of Bluâs voice caught Nigelâs ear. There they were, flying into the distance, a blue blur against a blue sky. âTheyâre getting away!â Nigel shrieked, slapping Charlie. âWake up, you insect-eating idiot. Follow them!â
Charlie twisted his tongue into a corkscrew and used it in the water to propel them upriver.
âBetter,â Nigel snapped, shaking some water off his wings. âNow go ten times faster!â
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Farther down the river, a base camp for a massive logging operation was being set up. A motorboat had pulled up to it, and a man dressed in a white suit, a white fedora, and expensive leather shoes alit onshore. He was the big boss of the camp and he did not look happy.
He walked into a tent where a group of loggers and a monkey were playing cards at a table. They were so engrossed in their game that they didnât notice him. But when he stabbed a knife in the table, they did.
âHaving fun?â the boss asked as the monkey dropped his cards and scampered off. âHereâs something fun.â He threw a newspaper at the foreman. On the front page was a photo of Linda and Tulio under the headline Rare Birds May Be Found?
âIf those tree huggers find their birds, theyâll bring in the authorities,â the boss said angrily. He ripped up the paper and stomped on it, furious. âAnd that will make me very, very unhappy!â
The loggers all looked at one another. No one dared breathe. No one wanted the boss to be unhappy.
The boss smoothed down the lapels of his suit and adjusted his hat. âI want those trees cut. Clear this area. You donât want to see me unhappy, do you ? â
And with that, he walked past a map of the forest and out of the tent.
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Linda and Tulio had the same map pulled up on their tablet. And right now they were in the middle of studying it. It had been divided into quadrants. âOkay, we covered areas A and B. So I think we should continue withââ Linda thought out loud, tapping the map with her finger.
Tulio couldnât hear her. He had on headphones and was busy holding up a microphone to record bird sounds.
âGwak! Gwak! Gwak!â he squawked into the forest, hoping to get a response back.
âTulio, are you listening to me?â Linda asked, exasperated.
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âYou have reached your destination,â intoned the GPS.
Blu looked at the others. âYou see? It worked like a charm,â he said proudly. âHere we are!â
âUh . . . where?â Carla deadpanned. They were standing in the middle of an empty clearing.
Blu began pressing buttons. âOh, these things have a margin of error.â
Jewel eyed the GPS. âI told you not to trust that woman.â
Meanwhile Bia and Tiago wandered off into the brush after a caterpillar.
âOooh! Thatâs a Heliconius larva,â Bia said. âIt feeds on rotting fruit.â
âYeah, me too!â Tiago said as they disappeared from view.
âHey kids! Kids! Stay close!â Blu called out.
âIâll get them,â Jewel said, flying off.
âOkay, you guys stay put,â Blu told his friends. âUm, Iâll look around.â
âNo worries, weâll be here,â Rafael said, indicating Nico and Pedro. âWeâre not going anywhere.â
But Nico and Pedro looked worried. âMy feathers is poppinâ up on the back of my neck,â Pedro said.
âI donât like this,â Nico said.
âNuh-uh,â Pedro said with a shiver. âLetâs back it up. Beep. Beep. Beep. â He mimicked the sound of a truck in reverse.
Blu flew off to a nearby tree. Pushing through some leaves, he gazed around. All he could see was thick jungle. âCome on, lady,â he told the GPS. âHelp me out here.â
âLost signal,â the GPS beeped.
Blu groaned. âGreat.â He flew back to the clearing, but to his surprise, everyone