Zoey woke up to a pecking sound. She groaned.
"It's to early..." She thought. "I was having a good dream."
But the pecking would not quit. Peck, peck, peck!
"If birds get headaches, I'm gonna have the worst migraine ever!" Zoey thought.
She got up and looked around. In the daylight she could see her little room
better. obviously, she had not been the first creature to find the cozy spot. There
were signs that other animals had nested there, like scratches and dried grass.
There were even two abandoned eggs in the corner. Zoey wondered if they could still
hatch. She got some moss and grass and covered up the eggs good, to keep them warm.
"Caw, crew, carr!" Zoey said. Which meant: "That should do it."
Then she waddled out of the hollow tree to see who this persistent tapper was.
"Ah ha!" Zoey cawed. She had spotted the guilty tapper a little ways up her tree.
It was a handsome woodpecker (and appeared to be male) drilling away in search of
breakfast. Zoey flew up to him and asked politely in bird language,
"Ever try the ground? It's much softer and you don't get cranky neighbors."
The woodpecker looked at Zoey. Then he said,
"Ever try minding your own buisness? This is my territory." He went back to pecking.
"Since when?" Zoey demanded.
The woodpecker didn't answer. His red head was a blur. Peck, peck, peck!
Zoey cawed: "I don't think this tree likes that much!" And started pecking lightly at
the rude bird. The woodpecker got annoyed and moved to a different spot on the tree.
But before Zoey could follow, she heard a CLUNK and the woodpecker fell to the ground. Then
a swarm of kids ran over, one carrying a sling-shot. Another had a cage.
"Oh no," Zoey thought "The bird might be rude, but nobody should be in a cage!"
She flew down, and before the kids could stop her, she scooted the woodpecker far into
her tree-cave. He was unconscious and heavy, but she was strong enough.
The kids had seen Zoey scoot him in, so they got down on their hands and knees,
and began sticking their hands in through the narrow entrance. But Zoey pecked
at them, and after a while they went away.
By the time the kids left, the woodpecker had gotten up. Zoey told him what had
happened.
"Thanks for saving me." He said. Then he spotted the eggs in the corner, and
asked Zoey about them.
"Chirp chir-r-r-r-r-rp." He said, which meant "Did you lay those?"
"Claw ra, caw," She replied (meaning no). "Just found them here."
Then Zoey told the woodpecker her story, about how she was turned into a bird, and
they became friends. The woodpecker said his name was Ruz. But soon they were
both hungry. So, out of the tree they went. Ruz chose a different tree to peck
on, and Zoey gathered a few bugs to eat.
After breakfast, Zoey said farewell and went over to Mellisa's house. In through
the window she flew. Mellisa was writing on her old typewriter.
"Caw, caw!" Which is how crows alert other birds of danger, or get their attention.
Mellisa turned. She jumped up, ran over to Zoey and whispered:
"You really shouldn't be here. My Dad Blue is allergic to some feathers. And my
other Dad, Ninro, thinks I bought you from a pet store. But you can stay for a
while, as long as you keep quiet."
She went over and sat back down at her typewriter.
Zoey sat on Mellisa's sholder and read the begining of a story Mellisa was writing.
Then she got Mellisa's attention and asked for a fresh paper by gestering toward a
stack of paper.
Mellisa took her story out and put a new piece in. Zoey flew down and typed:
'You might not want to start the story so descriptive. Especially if it will
be a long book. You may not be able to keep up the fancy writing as the story
goes on.'
Mellisa typed:
'I know. I probably won't finish it, anyway. I have trouble finishing books I
start.'
Zoey changed the subject and typed:
'My parents are not doing good. My Dad is depressed. He can't work. My Mom is so worried,
she has circles under her eyes and looks horrible. How can we reassure them that
I'm safe?'
Mellisa thought. Then she typed:
'I have an idea.'
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