Page 18 - English Expedition Class 6

‘Stone it to death!’ said one. ‘Th row poisoned meat through this hole! Let it eat the poisoned
meat and die!’ said another.
‘Hold it, hold it!’ yelled Rigzin so loudly that everyone turned around to see who it was. ‘We
have to fi rst save the calf in there. It’s still alive, and we’ll have to get it out somehow. If we threaten
the leopard in any way, it may attack the calf.’
‘How can we save the calf?’ sobbed Chorol, breaking down as she remembered the time when
the calf was born.
‘Listen to my idea. Right now, the leopard is very near the calf on this side of the lhas. You can
see the calf through the hole lying near it, can’t you? Let’s make another small hole in the roof at
the other end. All of you peep through the new hole and make a noise. Th e leopard will fi nd that
disturbing and is bound to cross over to see what you are up to. While you distract it from up here,
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I will quickly enter the lhas and retrieve the calf.’
‘You are crazy!’ laughed the village headman, and everyone nodded in agreement.
‘A snow leopard has never attacked humans till now. In all the countries where it is found, there
has not been even one recorded instance of an attack. Don’t worry, I shall be fi ne.’
Saying this, Rigzin picked up a stick and started pounding the roof at the other end. Everyone
joined him and soon a small hole was made. Sure enough, this seemed to anger the leopard. It
came over to that end of the lhas and initially stood still, keeping an eye on the roof. Th en when
everyone on the roof started to yell and scream, it began to jump towards the hole. But the roof was
too high, and the leopard could not even touch it with its front paws.
Not wasting another moment,
Rigzin ran down to the lhas. ‘Keep
calm,’ he told himself as he placed his
hand on the door of the lhas. He took a
deep breath and opened it. He tiptoed
quickly up to the calf and picked it up.
As he stepped back, he saw the leopard
turn around. It had spotted him! Rigzin
bolted towards the door. As he quickly
shut it, he saw a fl ash of grey through
the narrow chink . Th e shan had
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missed him by a fraction of a second!
Outside the lhas, Rigzin sank to his
knees holding the calf in his arms. In
seconds, the villagers joined him from atop the roof. ‘He’s alive! He’s safe!’ yelled one. ‘He has saved
the calf!’ shouted another. Rigzin handed over the calf to Jigmet. Tashi and Chorol came up to him
and clasped his hands tightly. Th e villagers gathered around them patted Rigzin on his back. It was
their way of thanking him for what he had just done.
‘Now what do we do with the snow leopard?’ asked a villager, once the excitement of saving the
calf had died down.
‘Kill it, of course!’ said Tashi.

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retrieve: bring back (something) chink: (here) a crack in the door
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