Chapter 9: Panda Party!

Po wobbled a little bit as he rolled, he hit every obstacle in his path, and he crashed into the banquet table instead of the furry panda pile—but he did it!

Po stood up. "You're right, that is better than walking."

The pandas cheered. As they headed to the banquet, a little boy named Bao walked up to Po.

"What kind of panda doesn't know how to roll?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I'm kinda new at this whole being-a-panda thing," Po replied.

The kid turned to Mr. Ping. "And what kind of panda are you?"

"I'm not a panda at all."

"What's that?" Bao asked, gesturing to Mr. Ping's head.

Mr. Ping shrugged. "My hat."

Bao gestured to his face. "What's that?"

"My beak," Mr. Ping replied. Bao was just starting another question when Mr. Ping shouted, "No more questions!"

All the pandas dug into the food piled high on the table, grabbing it with their hands.

"Here, son, I packed your chopsticks!" Mr. Ping said, shoving the tools into Po's hand.

"Thanks, Dad!" Po said.

The other pandas stopped eating and looked at him quizzically.

"What?" Po asked.

"What are those for?" asked Bao.

"These? These are chopsticks," Po replied. "They're for picking up dumplings."

To demonstrate, Po picked up a dumpling between the two sticks.

Bao looked surprised. "You mean, you only eat one at a time?"

He picked up a mound of dumplings with his hands and shoved them into his mouth, all at once! As Po looked around the table, he realized that all the pandas were eating that way.

He looked down at his hands. One held the chopsticks and a single dumpling, and the other was empty. He gasped.

"I knew I wasn't eating up to my potential!"

Po grabbed the dumpling out of his chopsticks, tossed them aside, and grabbed a second dumpling with his other hand. Then he shoved them both into his mouth at the same time!

Now it was Mr. Ping's turn to gasp. He was horrified! But everyone else cheered.

Suddenly a gong sounded through the village. Everyone stopped eating and turned toward an empty stage just beyond the banquet table.

On the stage, four umbrellas were twirling in unison. A beautiful panda walked through them, her face covered by a fan. Po dropped his dumpling.

"I am Mei Mei," said the panda, locking eyes with Po from behind her fan.

"Wow! She's amazing! She's so beautiful!" Mei Mei said, faking Po's voice from behind her fan.

She switched back to her regular voice and batted her long eyelashes. "That's sweet, Po. But please try to save all other compliments until after the performance."

"Me?" Po said, looking confused. "No, I didn't say—"

"Shh, shh, shut it," Mei Mei hushed him. "After the performance."

From his seat, Mr. Ping rolled his eyes. "Has it started yet?"

Mei Mei unfurled a ribbon from each hand and twirled them expertly. With a snap! she whipped a flute into the hands of a nearby panda, and then a cymbal to another.

They started playing, and she began to dance around the stage.

Li elbowed Po. "Best ribbon dancer in the world. At least, that's what she says."

Mei Mei's eyes met Po's as she danced. "Look away," she said. "You can't, can you?"

Po turned back to Li. "Dad, why does she keep staring at me like that?"

"Try to keep up," Mei Mei said with a wink. She then wrapped Po in her ribbon, yanking him out of his seat.

"Heh, I, uh, don't really know how to dance," Po said.

"Of course you do! All pandas dance!" said Mei Mei. She reeled Po in closer and dipped him. "I know what you're thinking."

"You do?"

"How can one panda be so beautiful?"

Po laughed nervously as Mei Mei whipped him in the other direction. Using her ribbons like puppet strings, she made Po grab some flowers from offstage and give them to her.

"For me?!" she said, puppeting Po again to kiss her hand.

"Help me, Dads!" Po shouted to Li and Mr. Ping as Mei Mei twirled him past them.

"Yeah, no. You're on your own." Li laughed as Mei Mei reeled him in again.

"You're doing great, son!" Mr. Ping shouted encouragingly.

"Your turn!" Mei Mei said, handing Po a ribbon.

But Po wasn't the most graceful ribbon dancer—he yanked a cymbal out of the hands of the musician and hit himself in the face! Then his feet got tangled in the ribbon and he toppled over with a thud.

Mei Mei used her ribbons to yank him back onto his feet before holding him above her head in a final pose. The crowd went wild—even Mr. Ping couldn't help but cheer.

As Mei Mei flung Po back into his seat, Li leaned over to him. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

"I have so much to learn," Po said. But as the pandas of the village surrounded him, the road ahead felt a little easier. After all, he had loads of good teachers to help him.