The water of the river was very still. There was not a ripple or a wave in it. John felt that he could even walk on it, if he tried! John was on a cruise ship on River Nile. The cruise ship covered a large part of the river. It would continue on the river, stopping only at a couple of areas in the middle. Since deep forests, full of dangerous animals, largely surrounded the river, it was impossible to stop the ship. The passengers, however, got a good view of not only the river but also the shores. John was super excited because he had seen a lot of birds and animals–large herds of zebras, deer, even hippopotamuses at the shore. At another part of the shore, he saw a lion chasing a baby-buffalo, to kill for his food!
“Mom, look!” he exclaimed, “That lion is running behind the baby-buffalo!” “Yes! He is hunting for food,” replied his mother. John was scared but also quite fascinated by all the wildlife activities that he saw around him. That evening when the water had looked calm, John was on the deck all by himself. Everyone else was eating food inside. He was not hungry. So, he came to the deck of the ship. Just then, he heard the loudest and most piercing squawk that he had ever heard in his life! Looking up, he saw this huge bird, almost as big as the ship, with its razor-sharp teeth and a tongue that looked like a snake’s, heading towards John with great speed. Its claws were so sharp that they seemed to be cutting the air. John was petrified! Without thinking, he picked up the nearest thing at hand. It was a bat. John had been playing cricket earlier and had forgotten the bat on the deck. Slowly, mumbling a ‘thanks’ to his forgetfulness, John swung the bat hard and hit the bird on the head. The monster-bird yelled out loud and fell with a large ‘splash’ in the water. Immediately, hundreds of piranha fish fell on the bird, and within seconds they finished it. There was not a single sign left of the bird in the water! After that thrashing and sloshing in the water, the water was back to its previous calm self. John did not tell anyone about what happened. Nobody would have believed him, and nor did he ever try. He was wondering in his heart of hearts how he single-handedly managed to vercome the mighty power of the monster bird.
