Pari the Panda Learns about Patience

Pari quickly finished her breakfast salad. She wanted to go swimming before the boat returned with the trappers. There was a warm grassy bank near the boat dock where she sometimes napped after swimming. Pari ran to the dock and jumped into the water and swam. But she got a cramp. "Oh, that’s right," she remembered. "I need to rest after I eat, so my tummy won’t hurt when I swim." Pari climbed onto the grassy bank and closed her eyes. She felt better already. Some trappers quietly stepped out from behind the trees and carefully placed an enormous box near where Pari was sleeping. Pari woke up and watched them tiptoe away. Then she saw the strange box made of iron bars. Inside was a large pile of bamboo leaves. Pari grabbed the hanging door and moved it a little. Smelling the bamboo leaves, she kicked a stick out of her way and lifted the door a little higher and went inside to taste them. KER-BANG! Just then, the trappers came back. They saw Pari inside the gigantic box. They laughed and smiled and gave each other high fives. “Got her!” said one. “She’s a beauty!” answered another. “Wait a minute,” growled Pari. “I don’t want to be in this box!” But the trappers didn’t listen. They didn’t understand Pari’s growls.