Mystery of the Lion's Tail CHAPTER 1 Wake-Up Call Squaaawk! Ethan Briar woke up to a strange noise and glanced around, confused. Where was he? This wasn't his room. The bed was covered with a gauzy gold canopy, not soccer-ball sheets. He didn't recognize the tree growing in the middle of the room . . . or the lantern by his bed either. His gaze fell on the window. A giant bird perched on the sill opened its long, thin beak. Squaaawk! Ethan let out a yell. He'd never seen such an enormous bird before--at least not up close! "What's wrong?" Andrew Briar called out from the other bed. He fumbled around for his glasses. "Dad! There's a pterodactyl in our window!" Ethan exclaimed. Mr. Briar slipped on his glasses. "Wow, it's big! No wonder you thought it was from the age of the dinosaurs. I'm guessing it might be a hammer-headed stork. Or a sacred ibis. Wait. Let me look." Excerpted from The Mystery of the Lion's Tail by Harper Paris All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.