Buffalo Before Breakfast

backpack was now a leather bag.
    â€œI feel like a mountain man,” he said.
    â€œAll you’re missing is a mountain,” said Annie. She pointed out the window.
    Jack and Teddy looked out.
    The tree house sat in a lone tree in a vast golden prairie. The sun was rising in the distance.
    Wind whispered through the tall yellow grass.
Shh—shh—shh
, it said.
    â€œWe need a gift from the prairie blue,” said Jack.
    â€œI bet that means the sky,” said Annie, looking up.
    â€œYep,” said Jack. The sky was growing bluer as they watched. “But how are we supposed to get it?”
    â€œJust like last time,” said Annie. “We have to wait till someone gives it to us.”
    â€œI don’t see any sign of people out there,” said Jack.
    He opened their book and read aloud.
    The Great Plains are in the middle of the United States. Before the 20th century, this vast prairie covered nearly a fifth of America’s land. Some called it “an ocean of grass.”
    Jack pulled out his notebook.
    â€œCome on,” said Annie.
    She picked up Teddy and carried him down the ladder.
    Jack quickly wrote:

    â€œWow, this
is
like an ocean of grass,” Annie called from below.
    Jack slipped the Great Plains book and his notebook into his leather bag and climbed down.
    When he stepped onto the ground, the grass came all the way up to his chest. It tickled his nose.
    â€œ
Ah-ah-CHOO!
” he sneezed.
    â€œLet’s go swimming in the grass ocean,” said Annie.
    She started off with Teddy under her arm.
    The wind blew gently as Jack hurried after her. All he could see was rolling waves of grass.
    They walked and walked and walked. Finally, they stopped to rest.
    â€œWe could walk for months and never see anything but grass,” said Jack.
    Arf! Arf!
    â€œTeddy says there’s something great up ahead,” said Annie.
    â€œYou can’t tell what he’s saying,” said Jack. “He’s just barking.”
    â€œI
can
tell,” said Annie. “Trust me.”
    â€œWe can’t walk all day,” said Jack.
    â€œCome on,” said Annie. “Just a little farther.” She started walking again.
    â€œOh, brother,” said Jack.
    But he kept going through the tall, rippling grass. They went down a small slope, then up a small rise. At the top of the rise, Jack froze.
    â€œWow, that
is
great,” he whispered.
    â€œTold you,” said Annie.

Jack stared at a circle of tepees ahead. Busy people in buckskins moved about the circle. Horses and ponies grazed nearby.
    Jack took out their research book and found a picture of the tepees.
    He read:
    In the early 1800s, many different Native American tribes lived on the Great Plains. The Lakota were the largest tribe. They lived mostly in the areas we now call North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
    Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

    Behind Jack and Annie, a horse neighed.
    They turned. A horse and rider were heading toward the tepee camp.

    The sun was very bright behind the rider. Jack could only see the outline of a body with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back.
    Jack quickly flipped through the book. He found a picture of a man on horseback carrying a bow and arrows. Below the picture it said LAKOTA WARRIOR .
    Jack read:
    Everything changed for the Native Americans of the Great Plains after white settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. Fighting broke out between Lakota warriors and white soldiers. By the end of the 1800s, the Lakota were defeated. They lost both their land and their old way of life.
    Jack looked back at the rider. The warrior was coming closer.
    â€œGet down,” he whispered.
    â€œWhy?” said Annie.
    â€œThis might be a time when the Indians are fighting with the settlers,” said Jack.
    The grass rustled as the warrior passed by them. His horse neighed again.
    Arf! Arf!
    â€œShh!” whispered Jack.
    But it was too late. The warrior had heard Teddy’s barking. He galloped toward them, grabbing his bow.
    â€œWait!” shouted Jack. He jumped up from the grass. “We come in peace!”
    The rider halted.
    Now Jack saw that he was only a boy on a pony. He couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven.
    â€œHey, you’re just a kid,” Annie said, smiling.
    The boy didn’t smile back. But he did lower his bow while he stared at Annie.
    â€œWhat’s your name?” she asked.
    â€œBlack