“So why are they taking Bumpy away, Uncle?” Dingo Pingo is confused
The boys sit sadly on the verandah. Uncle Junior looks at their sad faces. They have watched a minivan take the big dog away. Uncle Junior explains, “They are driving Bumpy away because Bumpy stopped lapping milk from a dish. Bumpy grew sharp teeth for tearing meat. We no longer cooed the soft coo we coo to our own babies. Bumpy stopped being a baby. Bumpy became a Rottweiler.”
“What did the humans expect of Bumpy?”
“Did they expect Bumpy to remain a puppy?”
“Babies are cute. Babies are harmless. Humans love babies. They love the babies of mammals.”
“But they are not so interested in the babies of invertebrates and reptiles. Baby snakes do not cause humans to coo and sigh.”
“Bumpy became a snake?”
“In a way, Bumpy became a snake. Bumpy stopped being cute and began to frighten people. Bumpy frightened the children when they wanted to play freely in the compound. Bumpy frightened the neighbors. Bumpy frightened the hopeful visitors at the gate.”
“Bumpy became too strong to play with children. He knocked them and bit them. He chased them and trampled them.”
“Big Bumpy was no longer a friendly neighbor. His bark was loud, and he jumped over walls.”
“Bumpy’s sharp teeth, huge feet, and wide chest frightened visitors. Those who hooted and those who knocked would return home rather than enter the compound with Bumpy.”
“Now the minivan is driving Bumpy away.”
“Do humans expect a lion not to roar? Do people expect a hyena not to attack? Do people expect a puppy not to grow into a dog?”
“What do people expect?”
What do you think?
Why does Uncle tell the story of Bumpy?
Why did people take Bumpy away from the village?
How do the children learn how to travel using the pineapple and the blanket?
How do they know they are visiting the past?
What problems can visitors have when visiting a new place?
Why do the children enjoy traveling?
Why does the pineapple stop being amazing?
How can the children travel in Africa now that they no longer have the amazing pineapple?
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