Panda Panic by Jamie Rix

Little Bear copied Ping exactly and fell flat on his face.
    They decided to go inside so that Little Bear could lay down and see for himself how an Emperor lived. Ping had enjoyed playing in the yard so much that he was in a careless mood and forgot to knock on the back door. He gave it a push and it swung open with a creak.
    There was nobody there.
    The room had a large bed pushed against one wall, a table in the middle surrounded by four wooden chairs, and a square box on legs in the corner facing an old sofa.
    â€œThis is what Goldilocks must have felt like when she walked into the bears’ empty house,” giggled Ping. “She could try out everything and nobody could stop her.” He looked at Little Bear, who appeared to be having exactly the same thought as he was, and their faces exploded into mischievous grins. First they tried the bed, bouncing as high as they could on the mattress to see who could touch the ceiling first. Next they tried the saucepans in the kitchen, pushing them down on their heads until they looked like knights’ helmets. Then, using cutting boards as shields and chairs as horses, they did a bit of jousting. Finally, they tried the shower, and took turns pretending to be mermaids washing their hair in a tropical storm. They dried themselves on the bath mat and went back into the sitting room so that Little Bear could take another look at the wooden box in the corner.
    â€œWhat is it?” he asked inquisitively.
    Ping prodded the glass window on the front of the square box.
    â€œMy friend Hui once told me that humans are fond of keeping fish behind glass windows,” he said.
    Little Bear peered through the glass until his eyes were sore, but did not see any fish.
    Meanwhile Ping, puffed-out from all the fun, slumped onto the sofa and accidentally sat down on a small, hard object covered in buttons. As he did so, the square box lit up and loud music blasted out from either side. Standing so close, Little Bear was taken by surprise. He jumped backward and scrambled behind the sofa to hide from the noise.
    â€œWhat is it?” he cried.
    â€œSome sort of magic box,” gasped Ping as the black screen disappeared and was replaced by a picture of a long-haired rock band playing music on a stage.
    â€œThey’re very small men, aren’t they?” said Little Bear, squinting at the screen.
    â€œI expect they have to live inside the square box to stop other people from treading on them,” said Ping.
    â€œYou could squash all of them with one paw,” observed Little Bear. “Imagine how small I’d be if I lived in there!”
    â€œNo bigger than a teardrop,” laughed Ping.
    â€œOr an ant’s kneecap!” shouted Little Bear.
    â€œOr a hair in the nose of a toad!”
    Jumping off the sofa to high-five Little Bear’s paw, Ping suddenly noticed that something strange was happening to his hips.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Little Bear asked nervously.
    â€œI don’t know,” replied Ping. “It’s like something’s taken over my legs. They’re wobbling and shaking all on their own.”
    â€œAnd your arms are whirling like dragonflies’ wings!”
    â€œSo are yours!” cried Ping.
    â€œI know,” said a shocked Little Bear. “What’s going on?”
    â€œIt’s the music coming from the square box,” shouted Ping. “I think it’s got into our bodies and is making them move.”
    â€œAre we possessed by evil spirits?” wailed Little Bear.
    â€œI don’t think so,” yelled Ping, flinging his arms above his head and kicking up his heels. “I think what’s happening to us is what is known as… DANCING!” And he shimmied his waist until his stomach started to ripple. Casting their fear aside, the two bears gave in to the music and jiggled and gyrated across the floor as if they were hopping around on hot coals. It was only when Ping