“I told you I didn’t like tombs,” Ellie mumbled, blushing.
“Now that they have brought you here, there is only one way back. You must go to the
Crescent Lake Temple of 1,000 Buddhas before sunset tomorrow, or you will be trapped in the Gobi
forever! We must leave tonight. Can you ride a horse?”
“Yes. No. Yes.” the Smiths said at once.
“Well, if you don’t know how to ride a horse, you can ride a camel!”
“But” stammered Ellie, as she got to the door. “But what? You can ride.” said Mum. “It’s not
that, I think, wait, I know, there is a dust storm outside!” Ellie said dismayed. “We’ll just have to
ride through it!” So the Smiths and their new Mongolian friends stepped out of the Yurt and into
the mysterious Gobi.
The family rode all night and all day. At last, the storm stopped, and the riders saw the most
beautiful sight: rolling hills of sand like waves; tiny lizards racing across the ground because of the
boiling sun. “What’s that?” asked Jackie, pointing to the sky. “It looks like a Golden Eagle, right?”
asked Ellie. “Oh, you do have a clever child,” complimented Bayarmaa. Ellie smiled proudly.
“Look,” said Jackie pointing at his dad’s watch, “7:00.” “No, not 7:00, 7:51,” corrected Ellie.
“That means the sun will set in 9 minutes. We need to get a move on. Let’s go!”
The families rode on but they still could not see the temple. There were questions filling their
minds. Questions, but no answers.
“STOP!” shouted Bayarmaa. “Why are we stopping?” asked Ellie’s Dad. “Look.”
Suddenly, they saw an amazing wave-like cliff of sand, a wondrous lake, a beautiful light
brown temple, so pale it looked white!
“You must find the first cave ever built at the temple, and we cannot help you,” said Bayarmaa.
“How many caves are there?” asked Mum.
“1,000! Hurry!”
The Smiths ran towards the temple and lake. “Goodbye,” they shouted. “And thank you!”
Ellie cried. Arriving at the caves, they started searching. The caves were dark and gloomy, but
decorated with detailed paintings of Buddha and his followers.
Only minutes left, but so many tunnels! “Wait,” shouted Ellie pointing towards a beam of
light, “I think it is this way!” They ran forward together and, “BOOM!”
Ellie opened her eyes and saw … her own bedroom. The book about the animals of the Gobi
desert she had been reading had fallen on the floor.
“Was that a dream?” Ellie yawned. She reached down for the book, and sand trickled out of
her sleeve.
