Rainforest Friends and Family (Jasper - Amazon Parrot Book 2)
Book summary
"Rainforest Friends and Family" explores the adventurous life of Jasper and his brother Willie in the Amazon jungle. Their journey is marked by curiosity, newfound friendships, and the constant need for vigilance in the face of jungle dangers. As they navigate challenges, their strong bond and trust in fellow creatures become essential for survival. Discover the secrets of the Amazon through their eyes, where each experience leads to unexpected friendships and valuable life lessons, even in the face of adversity.
Excerpt from Rainforest Friends and Family
Sally stared at Jasper, listening to his every word.
He described the strange creatures he and his brother had seen at the edge of the jungle.
“Charlie called them ‘humans,’” Jasper said, noticing the fact that she wasn’t happy.
She frowned heavily at him.
“They’re not like us at all,” he continued. “They don’t have a long tail like Charlie. Plus, they don’t have the long arms he has, so I don’t think they can swing from tree to tree. I’m not even sure if they eat bananas like he does.”
Sally sighed and looked at Willie. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Jasper should know better, Mama,” he quickly replied, saying the first thing that came to his mind.
Willie was afraid to look at his brother, who was now in big trouble. Being the oldest, it was Jasper’s responsibility to take care of him.
Sally shook her head. “Don’t you start! Anything could have happened to the two of you!”
Earlier that day, her children had made their way to the outskirts of the jungle with their friend, Charlie, a spider monkey.
Jasper had ventured close to the humans, while Willie stood waiting near a tree for safety.
The two of them had fully planned on telling her about their exploration upon getting home. To their surprise, she’d stood at the door, waiting, when they’d appeared and entered their tree. Upon seeing them, she’d asked, “Did you two have a good time with Charlie?”
The boys had known immediately that she knew. How much, they weren’t sure. They hadn’t mentioned they’d planned to spend the afternoon with Charlie.
One of Sally’s friends had witnessed the whole scene, however, and had flown straight to Sally to tell her about what she’d seen.
Willie stared at his feet, studying them carefully. He left it up to Jasper to continue with the story.
“We were safe, Mama. I even had Willie stand by a tree. He never went near the humans,” Jasper explained.
“And what about you?” Sally asked.
Jasper looked away and didn’t say a word. Anything he might have said would make it worse.
Willie remained quiet.
Jasper wasn’t making her feel any better. With her wings crossed and the frown still on her face, she looked quite mad.
“Well? I’m waiting.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the boys answered automatically.
“Do you know how dangerous this adventure was?”
“But Charlie was with us!” Willie cried.
“I know Charlie is your friend, but you are my children and I worry about you.”
“Yes, Mama,” they said in unison.
Sally shook her head. These were her babies, no matter how old they’d grow up to be.
“Jasper, do you think Charlie’s mother would mind a visit from me?”
“If she is as swell as Charlie, I don’t think so.”
She chuckled. Charlie’s mother had just been given the highest compliment ever.
“Next time you see Charlie, ask him when it would be a good time for me to come over.”
“You’re not going to get Charlie in trouble, are you, Mama?” Jasper asked.
“No, no. Nothing like that. I just want to learn more about these humans. I’ve seen them a few times while flying around, but I’ve never gone near them. If you’re going to hang around Charlie, I would feel better if I knew more about them, that’s all.”
Willie, who’d spent most of the time listening to the conversation between her and Jasper, suddenly spoke up. “Sooo, can we go play now?”
“Not yet. Come give me a hug.”
The boys noted the look of relief spreading across her face. They moved forward to hug her tightly.
“I love you both, but you know this.”
“Yes, Mama,” the boys replied once more.
“We didn’t mean to worry you,” Jasper said.
“Oh, boys. I think the two of you will always worry me, even when you don’t realize it. I know you didn’t mean to. It’s part of being a mom, though. Okay, I’m done lecturing. Why don’t you run along and go play? It’s too nice a day to stay inside.”
“Yippee!” Willie shouted.
“Woohoo!” Jasper loudly echoed his brother’s sentiment.
Turning to face the door, the two boys raced to the opening of the tree. In their rush, both reached it at the same time. Each tried to be the first one to squeeze out of their home.
Sally laughed. “Boys, boys! One at a time.”
“I got here first!” Jasper said.
“Uh-uh. No, you didn’t. I did!”
“Nuh-uh. I did!”
“No, I was first. Right, Mama?” Willie asked, turning around to face her.
“Oh, no, you don’t. I’m not getting in the middle of this,” she said with a smile. “Come back inside. Just move slowly. You can both do it.”
They did as they were told.
“Okay. I will pick a number from one to ten and whoever gets the closest to it will be the first one to leave. Does that sound fair?”
Neither of the boys agreed, but knew they couldn’t say so.
“Boys, pick a number and tell me what it is at the same time.” She could almost see the wheels turning inside their heads. “Ready?”
They nodded.
“Okay. Now, tell me your numbers.”
“I pick three,” Jasper said.
“I pick seven,” Willie replied at the same time.
“My number was eight, so it looks like Willie will be going out first.”
“Awesome!” Willie said.
Jasper didn’t complain. Not one bit. It had been done fair and square. Plus, he knew Willie had reached the hole first, though he would never tell.
As they left the nest, she said, “Be careful. If you see Charlie, don’t forget to ask.”
CHAPTER 2
Jasper and Willie stretched their wings and flew away. They both enjoyed feeling the wind beneath them, a fact they told their mama quite often.
“It doesn’t get much better than this, does it?” Jasper asked, flying on Willie’s left side.
“Nope, absolutely not,” Willie answered with a smile.
Beneath them, the canvas of colors of the Amazon spread out between the tree branches in splashes. The Scarlet Macaw, Toucan, and their neighbors, the Yellow Cheek Amazons, were also on display.
Nodding toward the section of the river they loved best, Jasper flew toward it.
Willie followed suit.
Soon, they touched down on the bank. It wasn’t any different from the other spots they’d come across through their travels. The area had the same vibrant color that covered the rainforest. The sky was still a lovely shade of blue, while the waters were nice and cool to the taste. This area had numerous lower branches they could fly to if they wanted to dry off after dipping into the cool waters.
The river, however, was where the two boys had first seen their reflections, which showed them how much they’d grown. They’d come to realize that they were no longer the ugly and featherless birds they’d been at birth. That’s what made the area unique to any other part of the river.
Although this place looked plain to everyone else, it was special to the boys. They’d claimed it as their own spot. They quenched their thirst and took a moment to rest. Flying still drained them a little.
“How can we find Charlie?” Willie asked.
“I can call his name. It normally works if he’s nearby.”
Willie chuckled. “You do have a loud voice.”
Jasper started to argue, but then thought better of it. He knew his brother was speaking the truth. He did have a loud voice. He didn’t even need to try. It just came out that way.
He remembered seeing a rainbow, and how he’d wanted to share the moment with his family. He’d seen colors of green, blue, and red. The same colors he’d seen on his feathers. In his excitement, what came out of his mouth was a voice so loud, it made him jump, until he remembered it was coming from himself. His mama and Willie had covered their ears with their wings. They’d also shut their eyes in the hopes that it would help.
“Cover your ears, Willie,” Jasper said with a slight smile.
His brother did as he was told.
“Ready?”
Willie said nothing.
“Willie, are you ready?” Jasper asked again.
Nothing.
Well, that was a good sign. Willie couldn’t hear him.
Jasper cleared his throat and shouted, “Charlie?” He waited a few minutes and listened. He heard nothing out of the ordinary. “Charlieeeeeeee?”
His friend’s name rolled off his tongue. If Charlie were to have been nearby, he would have heard the racket.
Darn it!
The three of them always seemed to have fun together. Jasper glanced at Willie, who was still standing in the same position. He nudged him.
Willie opened his eyes and uncovered his ears. “Charlie?” he asked.
“No. He must be off doing something else.”
“Charlie never seems to stay in one place, does he, Jasper? Always swinging from branch to branch looking for adventure or anything that seems to catch his eye,” Willie said.
“Like eating?”
Willie and Jasper burst into laughter. It wouldn’t surprise them if that was the case. One of Charlie’s favorite hobbies was eating. The boys rarely found their friend empty-handed.
“Let me fly to a branch,” Willie said, pointing to one nearby. “Maybe I can see him from there.”
Willie flew to the branch.
Jasper watched him fly to the next one.
His brother stretched onto his tippy-toes in the hopes of finding their buddy.
“I still can’t see him,” Willie shouted.
“Come on back. We can do something ourselves,” Jasper said.
“Let me try going to the very top. If I don’t see him, I’ll come down.”
Willie flew up to the top branch.
“Willie, just come on. We can find him later.”
“Not yet. I think I see him, but I’m not too sure. Hold on a minute.”
Jasper watched his brother fly out of sight. A few minutes passed. Willie was nowhere to be seen.
Oh, great!
He’d gotten yelled at by his mother for putting his brother in danger. Now, he’d allowed him to go up a tree to a spot where Jasper couldn’t see him. Jasper now understood what his mother had meant when she’d told them, “You two are going to age me.”
Before he had a chance to call out to his brother, Willie appeared. He gently flew back to where Jasper was waiting.
A rustle could be heard nearby. Soon, Charlie appeared.
“Hi, Charlie,” Jasper said.
“Hi, Jasper. Willie said the two of you were looking for me. Well, here I am.”
“Cool. I guess you heard my voice after all!”
“Yeah, I sure did. But as I made my way here, I saw some bananas and wanted to grab a couple just in case.”
Yep, Charlie loves food!
“What are you two up to anyway?” Charlie asked, walking toward the water’s edge to clean his face.
“Nothing much. We wanted to hang out if you were free,” Jasper said.
“Sure. I was just going to head back to the edge of the jungle to see if any food was left behind.”
Jasper stared at Charlie with a shocked expression on his face. “But that’s where the humans are!”
“I know. I’m hoping they left something. They bring such good food.”
“Our mama wasn’t happy we got that close to them,” Willie said.
“But it’s safe. I told you, my mom said it was okay,” Charlie said.
“Oh, thanks for reminding me. Our mama wanted to know if your mom would be interested in a visit from her. She’s curious to know more about the humans. She would feel better about us being near them.”
“These are very cute stories with gentle but lasting lessons to further children’s understanding”
“The author had packed this story with loads of life lessons, written subtly and so beautifully that I was in awe of how easily the children would be able to grasp it... The story left me with a deep curiosity to know what happened next in Jasper’s world and his adventures”
“If you love animals, book that teach lessons in a strong manner, and an opportunity for something clever, give these a try”
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