THE TWINS DISCOVER A DODO

The air was hot and full of noises as unseen animals squawked and howled from within the jungle. The treetop family have taken their time machine back to the sixteenth century,to the jungle island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The Treetop family were searching for dodos-strange birds that lived on Mauritius at that time. What were dodos like? asked Tulip. People used to thinks that dodos were heavy, and slow ,and a bit gormless, 'But now is our chance to find out the truth!' They had just reached a large clearing in the middle if the tangle of the jungle.A flock of birds was walking in the distance. 'Those can''t be dodos,' said Asha, looking through her binoculars. 'They're too thin'! `They are definitely dodos,` replied Professor Penelope, `and they don`t look heavy at all.' Now we mustn`t get too close,' whispered Professor Pablo. ` We mustn`t disturb the dodos or touch them, for their own safety. This is the perfect place to watch them, from behind this rock.` The dodos were wandering around the clearing, their beaks close to the ground. What are they doing? asked Tulip. ` They`re sniffing the ground, trying to pick up the smell of fruit!' whispered Professor Pablo, very excited. `So dodos are not gormless either.. Asha began to draw pictures of the dodos in her notebook. Ted had forgotten his pencils again. `Will you lend me a pencil, Asha?' asked Ted. ` I want to draw them too.' Why didn`t you bring your own?' said Asha.` I`m not going to lend one to you, then next time you might remember.' `That`s not very friendly!' said Ted rather loudly. `SHHhhh!' whispered Alfie. `You might disturb the dodos...' But it was too late. The dodos had lifted up their heads. They saw the Treetop family crouched behind the rock . And they started running towards them. `They `re just being friendly!' said Professor Penelope. `Unlike Asha,' grumbled Ted. `There are no predators on this island,' said Professor Penelope, `so the animals and birds wont`t be frightened if they see a human...' And the dodos were very friendly indeed. They rushed towards the Treetop family in a very welcoming ways, little stubby wings outstretched so they could keep their balance, feathers flying. `Don`t get too close!' warned Professor Pablo. WE`RE not moving!' protested. Alfie. `It`s the dodos who are getting closer to US!. Sure enough, the dodos came closer and closer. `Well in that case, everyone... R-U-U-U-N!' decided Professor Penelope. So the whole Treetop family ran out of the clearing as fast as they could. They overtook the giant tortoises, making their s-s-slow way across the clearing, their longnecks peering out of their shells. They overtook the skinks, basking on rock in the sunshine. But however fast they ran, the dodos seemed to keep up with them. `I guess that proves it then...' puffed Professor Penelope, looking over her shoulder. proves what? asked Tulip. `That dodos aren`t SLOW either...' said Professor Penelope, panting and laughing as they made it back to the safety of the time machine. Night-time on the island of Mauritius. The fruit bats fluttered through the jungle, and the parakeets screeched.The Treetop family were eating their supper under the stars. Asha showed everyone her dodo pictures. They all looked very impressed. Apart from Ted, who was still a bit cross with her for not lending him a pencil . Asha felt bad, so she ripped out a page from the back of her book and gave Ted a pencil . Ted smiled and began to draw his own picture. `So people were wrong about those dodos,' said Tulip.`They`re not heavy, or slow , or gormless at all.' `And I was wrong about Asha too,' said Ted. `She can be friendly sometimes,' `Not as friendly as those dodos through!`said Alfie. `They were very, very friendly indeed. maybe even a little TOO friendly....' The air was hot and full of noises as unseen animals squawked and howled from within the jungle. The treetop family have taken their time machine back to the sixteenth century,to the jungle island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The Treetop family were searching for dodos-strange birds that lived on Mauritius at that time. What were dodos like? asked Tulip. People used to thinks that dodos were heavy, and slow ,and a bit gormless, 'But now is our chance to find out the truth!' They had just reached a large clearing in the middle if the tangle of the jungle.A flock of birds was walking in the distance. Asha showed everyone her dodo pictures. They all looked very impressed. Apart from Ted, who was still a bit cross with her for not lending him a pencil . Asha felt bad, so she ripped out a page from the back of her book and gave Ted a pencil . Ted smiled and began to draw his own picture.`So people were wrong about those dodos,' said Tulip.`They`re not heavy, or slow , or gormless at all.' `And I was wrong about Asha too,' said Ted. `She can be friendly sometimes,' `Not as friendly as those dodos through!`said Alfie. `They were very, very friendly indeed. maybe even a little TOO friendly....' `Unlike Asha,' grumbled Ted. `There are no predators on this island,' said Professor Penelope, `so the animals and birds wont`t be frightened if they see a human...' And the dodos were very friendly indeed. They rushed towards the Treetop family in a very welcoming ways, little stubby wings outstretched so they could keep their balance, feathers flying. `Don`t get too close!' warned Professor Pablo. WE`RE not moving!' protested. They overtook the skinks, basking on rock in the sunshine. But however fast they ran, the dodos seemed to keep up with them. `I guess that proves it then...' puffed Professor Penelope, looking over her shoulder. proves what? asked Tulip. `That dodos aren`t SLOW either...' said Professor Penelope, panting and laughing as they made it back to the safety of the time machine ASHA`S FACT ABOUT DODOS Dodos lived on the island of mauritius in the sixteeth century. Dodos were thinner than people thought, and cleverer too! They had kneecaps and strong legs so they could run fast. MOM-PROFESSOR PENELOPE DAD- PROFESSOR PABLO BIG TWINS- ASHA -AFIE LITTLE TWINS -TED-TULIP