PE N GU I N R E A D E R S

The White Oryx

Bernard Smith
There! Near the trees. Can you see them? Theyre the
white oryx of Arabia, Abdullah says very quietly.
Mandy Brown takes some photos of the oryx. She is
writing a book about the animals of Arabia. Today she is
in the desert with Abdullah. He is an oryx ranger.
Theyre beautiful animals, Mandy says. But the desert
is very big. How do you find them?

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We put little radios on the oryx, Abdullah says. You
can see one there, on its neck. With the radios we can
usually find them.
Suddenly there is a noise behind them. It is the big radio
in the car. The oryx look up and run away quickly.
Abdullah! the radio says. Can you hear me? Theres a
problem in Wadi Bidbid. Perhaps poachers.

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Im very near there, Abdullah says. I can go there, but
Ive got the Australian woman with me.
Thats OK, Mandy says. I can come with you. Perhaps
I can help you.
OK, Abdullah says. Lets go.
Mandy gets into the car and they drive away quickly
across the desert.

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The sand makes a long yellow cloud behind the car.
Poachers? Mandy asks. What do they do?
Theyre a big problem, Abdullah says. Usually they
shoot the oryx. They sell the heads. And sometimes they
catch the young oryx and sell them.
Theres Wadi Bidbid in front of us, Abdullah says. I
cant see any oryx. Lets look for tracks in the sand.

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They open the windows and drive slowly.
Look! There! Mandy says. I can see tracks.
Youre right, Abdullah says. There are the tracks of a
truck, and some oryx. And look! Theres some blood in
the sand here and there. This is the work of poachers.
They follow the tracks of the truck slowly across the
sand.

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Under the tree they find an oryx with a big hole in its
neck. It is dead.
'We've got a problem,' Abdullah says. 'Look! 1 can see
the tracks of a young oryx here. This dead oryx is its
mother. But the baby oryx isn't here.'
'Can we follow the tracks of their truck in the sand?'
Mandy asks. 'Can we catch them?'

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They drive quickly across the desert again. Mandy is
watching the tracks. Abdullah is talking on the radio.
'One mother oryx is dead,' he says. 'But the poachers
have got her baby. We're following them.'
Abdullah listens to the radio and smiles.
That's good,' he says to Mandy. T h e police have a
helicopter near here. They're coming, too.'

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Suddenly they come to a road in the desert. Now they
can't see the tracks of the truck.
'Left or right?' Abdullah says. 'What do you think?'
Mandy climbs quickly on the car.
'Go to the left,' she says. 'I can see a small cloud of sand
on the left. It's the poachers!'
She climbs down and they follow the road to the left.

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Now they can see the cloud of sand behind the poachers.
'We're very near them now,' Mandy says. 'Look! They're
not moving. We can catch them. Oh no! There's a man
with a gun near the truck.'
Suddenly there is a loud noise in the car.
'Get down!' Abdullah says quickly. 'They're shooting at
us. Look at the hole in the window.'

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Abdullah drives into some small trees and stops the car.
He gets his gun and talks on the radio again.
Mandy goes into the trees and looks at the road.
'The poachers are moving again!' she says. 'They're in
the truck. And the man with the gun is on the back.'
'Are they driving away?' Abdullah asks.
'No!' Mandy says. 'Help! They're coming back here!'

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Abdullah starts the car again. But it is in the sand now
and it doesn't move. He goes in front of the car with his
gun. Mandy goes behind the car.
Suddenly there is a very loud noise and they see a
helicopter in front of them. It makes a big cloud of sand
and the poachers can't see the road. The truck stops in
the sand and two men run from it into the desert.

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The police helicopter comes down near the poachers.
The poachers quickly put their guns on the sand and put
up their hands.
Abdullah and Mandy run to the truck.
The young oryx is in the back of the truck. There is no
blood, but it isn't moving.
Ts it dead?' Mandy asks quietly.

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Abdullah takes its head in his hands. The little oryx
opens its eyes and moves its legs.
'No, it's OK.' Abdullah smiles.
'But its mother is dead,' Mandy says. 'Can it live?'
'Yes,' Abdullah says. 'It's young, but it isn't a baby. We
can find it a new mother. No problem.'
'Wait,' Mandy says suddenly. 'I want some photos.'

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Mandy takes photos of Abdullah and the young oryx.
Then she takes photos of the police and their helicopter.
She takes pictures of the poachers, too.
A policeman comes and looks at the young oryx.
'Not a bad day,' the policeman says.
'No,' Abdullah says. 'The mother oryx is dead, but this
young oryx is OK. And you've got two poachers.'

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'It's a good day for me, too.' Mandy smiles. 'I've got
some very interesting pictures for my book about the
animals of the desert.'
'Perhaps you can write a new book,' the policeman says.
'A book about the oryx poachers and the famous ranger,
Abdullah.'
'Why not?' Mandy smiles again.

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 ACTIVITIES

Before you read

1 Find the words in your dictionary. What are they in your language?
baby blood climb cloud desert follow gun helicopter
help hole loud neck oryx poacher ranger sand sell
shoot track truck
2 Is it usually hot or cold in a desert? What animals live in a desert?

After you read

3 Answer the questions about the story.
a Why is Mandy Brown taking photos of the oryx?
b What is Abdullah's job?
c Why do some oryx have a radio on their necks?
d Why do Abdullah and Mandy go to Wadi Bidbid?
e What do poachers do to oryx?
f What do Abdullah and Mandy find in Wadi Bidbid?
g How do they follow the poachers?
h Who come and catch the poachers?
i What do they find in the back of the truck?
j What is Mandy's new book about?
4 Read the sentences. One word in every sentence is wrong. Make it
right.
a The rangers catch and kill the oryx.
b The poachers kill the baby oryx.
c The police come in a truck.
d The oryx in the truck is a big oryx.
e 'It's a bad day,' the policeman says.
Mandy Brown is in the desert with Abdullah, an oryx
ranger. But there are poachers in the desert too - and
a mother oryx is dead. C a n Mandy and Abdullah catch
the poachers? A n d can they find the dead oryx's baby?

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