Chapter 4 – Wild Instincts
“It’s so hot out here! We got to find some water!” grua, grúa griped, as he walked slower and slower along the jungle path. “Don’t be a baby, Crane! tu can survive without water for three days.” replied Tigress, as she continued to look ahead for the siguiente landmark. “Come on, Tigress.” grua, grúa continued, “We’ve been walking all día and found nothing.” Meanwhile, Monkey swung from árbol to árbol above them. “I have to agree with grua, grúa on this one. We need water, and I don’t see any fuente anywhere nearby.” “Guys, we’re almost there.” tigresa assured them. grua, grúa sighed. “You dicho that an hora ago.” he whined. Suddenly, the trio came upon a clearing, and before tigresa could answer, the siguiente 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.” tigresa examined the statue carefully, and came to a conclusion. “This might be a symbol for a deity o some other icono for the ancient civilization here.” she stated, “Who knows who o 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?!” grua, grúa shouted, “It looks like these people just put misceláneo objects into a statue. Why should we admire it?!” tigresa yelled right back.
“Because it symbolizes their ancient way of life.”
“Yeah! It symbolizes the fact that they were a strange people.”
“How could tu 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 por 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 tu guys stop this?! You’re arguing over something stupid!” he shouted. grua, grúa and tigresa looked at each other and calmed down. “I’m sorry Tigress.” grua, grúa said, “I shouldn’t have yelled at tu 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 más training exercises?” “Sounds good to me.” replied Crane. tigresa nodded in agreement. “So, Monkey, what do tu have in mind?” grua, grúa asked. “Oh… you’ll see!” Monkey replied.
Monkey seemed to make no preparations for the siguiente exercise. Moreover, tigresa and grua, grúa became really puzzled. “Um… Monkey… What are we supposed to be doing?” tigresa asked him. “It’s simple.” Monkey responded, “You guys remember that tu trained together around those stone structures before, right?” “Yes…” they dicho in unison, slowly. “Well, the trees around tu are just like those stone structures, except for the fact that there are más of them and that they’re closer together.” Monkey continued. “So… tu want us to fight each other as we mover from árbol to árbol just like tu do?” asked Tigress. “Exactly!” exclaimed Monkey. “Sounds good to me.” grua, grúa said, as the he and tigresa 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.” grua, grúa stated, “Do tu feel hungry?” “Yes, I do.” she replied, “Monkey, do tu have any comida on you?” Monkey put his hand behind his back and said, “Um… I did, but…” “Po ate it all, didn’t he?!” tigresa interrupted. “Yes…” Monkey sighed, as grua, grúa and tigresa did the same deep sigh. “I told tu that we should’ve brought more!” exclaimed Crane. “Hold on a sec.” tigresa 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. grua, grúa 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 grua, grúa 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 dicho one word, “Food…” The Capybara screamed and ran back into the bushes. “Mine…!” tigresa shouted as she chased after it. grua, grúa yelled for tigresa 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 comida 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 tigresa disappeared in the lush jungle.
