Читать книгу Evie in the Jungle - Matt Haig - Страница 8

A little later, over breakfast, Evie’s dad had an idea about how to deal with all this unwanted attention.

‘It’s the school holidays next week. We need to get away for a while,’ he said, pulling the blinds down to stop the reporters from looking in. ‘What do you think?’

Evie nodded. ‘One hundred per cent agree.’

‘Where would you like to go?’

Evie looked down at the book she was holding. ‘How about the Amazon? I’d like to go back. I know we were there when I was little, when you and Mum worked there, but I can’t remember it except in dreams. Maybe we could make those dreams real?’

Her dad looked worried for a moment. Then he smiled. ‘You are your mother’s child. But the Amazon is a big and dangerous place. Are you sure? And what about Scruff?’

Scruff was lying in his basket.

‘Would you like to go and stay with Granny Flora?’ Evie asked the dog.

‘Yes,’ Scruff said. ‘Yes, I would. I get to sleep in her bed and she gives me human food. Including pizza. I like pizza. I know I shouldn’t but I do. Pizza is good. Can I go right now?’

‘Scruff would be fine at Granny Flora’s,’ Evie told her dad.

‘Okay. But it’s the Amazon.’

Evie sighed. She knew all about the Amazon. Not just from her dreams but also from books. She knew that one out of ten animals that exist on Earth can be found in the rainforest. And that many of them are dangerous – poison dart frogs, wandering spiders and sleek, prowling spotted jaguars.

But she also knew that more dangerous than all of those creatures were human beings. She knew the rainforest was under attack. Humans destroy enough rainforest to fill thirty football pitches every minute.

‘I’m sure. I want to go there and think about doing something useful. I want to help fight climate change. I want to protect animals. This might help me do that.’

‘Do you want to visit the Brazilian rainforest?’

Evie shook her head. Her mum had died in the Brazilian rainforest.

‘No. Not yet. I’ve been thinking about Peru,’ said Evie.

‘Wow. You really have thought about this. But I am worried.’

‘There’s a surprise.’

‘I’m sorry, Evie, but it’s not the safest place for a holiday. Are you sure you don’t want to go to Mallorca? Or the South of France? Or . . . Cornwall? Cornwall’s nice.’

‘A riverboat cruise would be safe,’ she suggested. ‘And I could meet some pink river dolphins. I’ve done my research. There’s one called Ernesto’s River Adventures. It’s a small boat. Just a few passengers.’

‘Well, okay. I’ll look into it. But maybe we should sneak away to Granny Flora’s until we go. Just to get away from all this noise.’

‘Thanks, Dad!’ said Evie.

‘Thanks!’ said Scruff, closing his eyes and thinking of all that pizza.

Evie’s dad smiled. ‘But I can’t promise pink river dolphins!’