Fox

As soon as they unloaded their backpacks, their mom called both sons to the table.

“Tomorrow school opens again, boys,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “Have you already forgotten the school rules?”

“School?!” both brothers exclaimed in unison. “Mom, we’ve outgrown school desks a long time ago!”

“Oh, come on, stop complaining,” their mom laughed. “You’re doing great in your subjects, except for botany and zoology, of course…”

Martin looked skeptically at his brother:

“You know, Chris, I would like to learn how to visually distinguish a species of primate from the Stone Age at least.”

Chris pretended to frown:

“Oh, come on, the main thing is that we can tell the paw prints of a lemur from those of a sloth.”

The morning of the next day started early. The boys sat nervously in class, awaiting the start of lessons. Teacher Madame Bruère entered the classroom, strict and elegant.

“Well then, Mr. Kratt, let’s see what your last trip to the Amazon has taught you,” she said dryly.

The first lesson began with questions about the anatomy of mammals. Martin felt confident, recalling all the monkeys he had seen in person. Chris also did well, mentioning a couple of vivid examples related to giraffes and elephants.

Lessons went on one after another, but the most interesting awaited them in the last class. When the chemistry teacher asked for a demonstration of an experiment involving acid and base reactions, Chris decided to add an element of creativity.

“Let’s try conducting an experiment with orange juice and baking soda,” he suggested.

Martin nodded, pulling out the reagents.

“Great idea, Chris! Just remember that the reaction will be vigorous, so let’s prepare in advance.”

The teacher beamed with excitement, approving the idea for the experiment.

In the evening after classes, the boys met up with their friends. One of their buddies suggested going to watch white sharks dance nearby at the coast. After all, who better than true nature researchers would be interested in observing marine predators up close?

The night turned out to be cold, but the guys easily made their way on foot. Watching the whale sharks indeed became an impressive event. One episode particularly stood out when a giant fish swam almost right up to their boat.

The last day of the school year arrived. After taking their exams, Chris and Martin gathered once again to embark on their favorite pursuit — studying nature and animals.

As they headed to the airport, they looked back, exchanging smiles.

“Hey, Mart, you know, school isn’t such a bad thing after all, right?” Chris said.

“I agree, bro,” Martin replied. “Who knows, maybe one day it will come in handy in our research.”