1 El Tigre The jaguar’s yellow eyes gleamed through the dark jungle leaves His lips pulled up in a snarl His sharp teeth flashed in the dim light The three-hundred-pound cat crouched on a branch He was about to leap I love looking at the jaguar at the Wye Museum Uncle Roy calls him El Tigre That’s Spanish for jaguar
Too bad El Tigre is stuffed and stuck in a display case I’d like to see a jaguar for real Right up close I told Uncle Roy Uncle Roy didn’t answer He was bringing palm trees and other tropical plants into the new greenhouse Uncle Roy runs this museum It was his idea to add a greenhouse to the Amazon Rain Forest exhibit That way he said visitors can feel what it’s like to walk in the jungle It’s a cool idea Still I don’t think it will be as great as the jungle-cat part
After all the greenhouse will only have flowers and bugs and stuff Why can’t we get a live jaguar I asked Uncle Roy He looked at me from behind a potted potted fern Jeff this is a natural history museum he said not a zoo But we’re going to have live butterflies I argued He gave me another look Okay okay I guess there’s not much danger a butterfly will eat a visitor I admitted Uncle Roy smiled That’s the good thing about butterflies
