Chapter 4 – Wild Instincts
“It’s so hot out here! We got to find some water!” কপিকল griped, as he walked slower and slower along the jungle path. “Don’t be a baby, Crane! আপনি can survive without water for three days.” replied Tigress, as she continued to look ahead for the পরবর্তি landmark. “Come on, Tigress.” কপিকল continued, “We’ve been walking all দিন and found nothing.” Meanwhile, Monkey swung from বৃক্ষ to বৃক্ষ above them. “I have to agree with কপিকল on this one. We need water, and I don’t see any উৎস anywhere nearby.” “Guys, we’re almost there.” বাঘিনী assured them. কপিকল sighed. “You ব্যক্ত that an ঘন্টা ago.” he whined. Suddenly, the trio came upon a clearing, and before বাঘিনী could answer, the পরবর্তি landmark stood before them.
The new landmark was a statue in the shape of an unusual symbol, which none of the three recognized. “This is it?!” exclaimed Crane, “We came all the way out here for this?!” “What is this supposed to mean?!” Monkey continued, “It looks somebody messed up on this eye and covered with all kinds of various materials.” বাঘিনী examined the statue carefully, and came to a conclusion. “This might be a symbol for a deity অথবা some other প্রতীকী for the ancient civilization here.” she stated, “Who knows who অথবা what this was supposed to mean. We shouldn’t guess what it is. Instead, we should admire the artistry that made this piece come to life.” “Admire it?!” কপিকল shouted, “It looks like these people just put যেভাবে খুশী objects into a statue. Why should we admire it?!” বাঘিনী yelled right back.
“Because it symbolizes their ancient way of life.”
“Yeah! It symbolizes the fact that they were a strange people.”
“How could আপনি say that?!”
“Look at the facts. They picked the worst place to live, made the strangest statue in history, and probably used up all the water here!”
“You can judge a book দ্বারা its cover!”
“I think I can judge these people just fine!”
As the two yelled at each other back and forth, Monkey became increasingly annoyed. “Would আপনি guys stop this?! You’re arguing over something stupid!” he shouted. কপিকল and বাঘিনী looked at each other and calmed down. “I’m sorry Tigress.” কপিকল said, “I shouldn’t have yelled at আপনি like that.” “It’s all right, Crane. I got carried away there.” she replied. “Good.” Monkey said, in relief, “Why don’t we do some আরো training exercises?” “Sounds good to me.” replied Crane. বাঘিনী nodded in agreement. “So, Monkey, what do আপনি have in mind?” কপিকল asked. “Oh… you’ll see!” Monkey replied.
Monkey seemed to make no preparations for the পরবর্তি exercise. Moreover, বাঘিনী and কপিকল became really puzzled. “Um… Monkey… What are we supposed to be doing?” বাঘিনী asked him. “It’s simple.” Monkey responded, “You guys remember that আপনি trained together around those stone structures before, right?” “Yes…” they ব্যক্ত in unison, slowly. “Well, the trees around আপনি are just like those stone structures, except for the fact that there are আরো of them and that they’re closer together.” Monkey continued. “So… আপনি want us to fight each other as we সরানো from বৃক্ষ to বৃক্ষ just like আপনি do?” asked Tigress. “Exactly!” exclaimed Monkey. “Sounds good to me.” কপিকল said, as the he and বাঘিনী jumped, climbed, and flew into the trees above.
The two kung fu masters repeatedly collided together, exchanging kicks and punches, as the two moved quickly through the trees, as Monkey kept pace behind them. “You two are looking great. Keep it up!” he shouted. As the two warriors continued to come together, however, they began to feel and hear a little growl in their stomachs. “Hold on, Tigress.” কপিকল stated, “Do আপনি feel hungry?” “Yes, I do.” she replied, “Monkey, do আপনি have any খাবার on you?” Monkey put his hand behind his back and said, “Um… I did, but…” “Po ate it all, didn’t he?!” বাঘিনী interrupted. “Yes…” Monkey sighed, as কপিকল and বাঘিনী did the same deep sigh. “I told আপনি that we should’ve brought more!” exclaimed Crane. “Hold on a sec.” বাঘিনী said, “There’s got to be some-” Suddenly, a Capybara appeared out of the bushes around them. It appeared to be exhausted and out of breath. কপিকল and Monkey stared at it, with no intent to harm it at all. However, the Capybara’s face turned into a fearful one when it looked up at Tigress.
Once কপিকল and Monkey looked at Tigress, they could not believe their eyes. She stared at the small mammal with an intent stare. Her mouth began to water heavily, and she ব্যক্ত one word, “Food…” The Capybara screamed and ran back into the bushes. “Mine…!” বাঘিনী shouted as she chased after it. কপিকল yelled for বাঘিনী to come back. Monkey then put one of his hands in front of him, blocking his progress. “It’s her wild instincts, Crane.” he stated.
“Wild instincts?!”
“She’s a tiger still at heart. This is what a predator does, Crane.”
“But… She always eats noodles and dumplings with us.”
“That is true. However, if someone like her is trapped in a wilderness like this with no খাবার for a good amount of time, the predator inside of them will take over.”
“So… What do we do now?!”
“Just stand here and wait.”
The two males stood there and watched as বাঘিনী disappeared in the lush jungle.
