I started writing this chapter book for one of the tykes in our family, but I was also writing A Three-Turtle Summer, so this story got lost. There are more pages, I’ll post them if there is ever any interest. JMH  

 

 

                                                     Jamaica Finds a New Friend

                                                          Janelle Meraz Hooper

 

This is a story about birds. Three birds to be exact: a little green parrot named Jamaica, a yellow cockatiel named KoKoMo, and a big black crow named Jupiter.

      Little Jamaica and KoKoMo lived in a nice warm house, with lights, a color TV, and lots of music. Their gourmet birdseed came from a nearby pet shop, and they regularly received treats from the kitchen.

      Jamaica and Kokomo loved the treats! They especially liked the bites of Brussels sprouts, baked potato and bread. Sometimes, they even got a bite of pizza!

      In short, life was good. Even the house cat, Rambo, was nice to them. Actually, Rambo was nice to them partly because he was terrified of the sound that the bird's wings made when they flew.

      Flap! Flap! Flap! He couldn't figure out why it was necessary for them to do that. They didn't see him flying all over the place, did they? No. He kept all four of his paws on the ground. Like a cat should. And a bird should. At least inside birds.

      Rambo was surprised to learn that the parrot could talk. Many a good nap had been spoiled by Jamaica calling, "Rambo, Rambo, I love you, Rambo!" The first time he heard Jamaica say that, he almost wet Sally's carpet. Never before had the cockatiel said anything to Rambo, though he had heard her whistle that "shave and a haircut, two bits" tune that she’d learned from Sally’s husband.

        But even with all of the surprises, he had to admit that he had a pretty good life, too. And the birds were lots of company. And, sometimes, lots of laughs, like when Kokomo fell asleep on her top perch with her fancy head feathers sticking out, and Jamaica walked over and pulled them all out with one bite! Boy was KoKoMo mad! It took weeks for those feathers to grow back!

      And then there was the time that Kokomo fell off her swing when she was sound asleep and a small earthquake shook her cage. Boy, you never heard such squawking! But normally, Kokomo was the quietest of the two birds. It was Jamaica that got most of the attention in the household.

      That bird could hear the pantry or refrigerator open even if he was in the other room with the radio on. And even if he were sound asleep the sound of a potato chip bag being opened would have him chirping, "Good stuff! Good stuff!" until he got a treat.

      Jamaica was also very social. If the rest of the family was watching TV, he would call out, "Come on, let's go!" until someone came into his room to get him. Most often, once he got to the living room, he would make so much noise that his mistress, Sally, would have to take him back to his cage. When she picked him up and said, "You're out of here!" Jamaica would pull in his neck and say, "Uh, oh!" all the way back to his cage. Sometimes, Sally thought that Jamaica came out just for the fun of getting into trouble and being sent back to his room again.

            As you can see, Jamaica was a very smart little parrot. He not only noticed what was inside the house, he noticed what went on outside, too. For instance, he noticed that there were quite a few black crows living in the trees outside.

            He would watch them fly and eat in the garden...what it was that they ate, he didn't know. But they had a loud chatter and looked as if they were having a dandy time out there, free to fly where ever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Sometimes, he was envious of them. Especially on sunny days. But sometimes, when the weather was cold and rainy, he wished he could invite all of them inside.

            Of course, he didn't know if they would accept his hospitality. They may even eat all of his food, and be mean to him. What if they took over his perch? Where would he sleep at night? That would definitely be an "Uh-oh!" Or something even worse!

            Still, life outside did look interesting. And there was one crow that the other crows called Jupiter that looked like he might be friendly. Perhaps, Jamaica thought, he would try to get to know just this one crow at first. Then, maybe he could learn more about the other crows, and more about life outside.

            This wouldn't be hard to do. Jamaica was left outside his cage all day and his favorite place to sit was right on top. It would just be a short hop to the windowsill.

            If Sally would just go to the grocery store and forget to close the window near his cage maybe he could call to the crow. So far, she'd never neglected to close the window, even though they were on the second floor and the window had a screen. But someday, she might. Jamaica would just have to wait.

            Meanwhile, there was lots to do inside the house. He could wait for the phone to ring, then yell "Hello! Hello!" until someone answered it. And he had a new toy with a bell that just wouldn't come off like all the others. He would just have to work on it some more. There was plenty of seed to throw all over the carpet, and he always saved time to chew on his perch.

            That perch was an on-going project of his. Jamaica had chewed the last one right in the middle all the way through until it fell to the bottom of the cage and took him along with it. That was part of the fun...knowing just when to fly off before the perch broke.

            And, of course, there was always Kokomo. He could fly over to her cage, turn her seed dish upside down, and maybe pull out some more of her top feathers. At the very least, he could eat some of her treats before he was caught and sent back to his own cage by Sally.

            Rambo was a real challenge. That lazy cat would sleep all the time if he didn't have Jamaica to call to him. Sometimes, Rambo would sleep so soundly that Jamaica would have to fly over and bite his tail to wake him up. Once, he bit his ear, but he found out that waking up Rambo was a lot more fun if he wasn't so close to the cat’s biting end.

            All that was inside stuff. And it kept him busy most of the time. But sometimes, Jupiter made so much noise outside that he just couldn't be ignored. At those times, Jamaica would get so excited that he would jump on the windowsill and run up and down and try to make crow sounds.

            One day it happened. The crows were making their crow sounds, and Jamaica was jumping up and down on the windowsill making his crow sounds. Jupiter looked up and saw Jamaica for the first time.

            Why, what do we have here? Jupiter thought. He sure isn't one of us. He's kind of puny. But he's kind of cute, too. In a green sort of way. Jupiter decided to get closer. A lot closer. He flew right over to the windowsill and looked right at Jamaica. By this time, Jamaica had flown back to his cage, climbed in side and slammed the door!

            Before he could hide, Jupiter called out to him,"Hey, little fella, what's your name?"

            "J-J-J-Jamaica." Said Jamaica in an uncertain voice.

            "Howdy. Who's that other little fella over there?"

            "That's Kokomo, and she's a girl."

            "She is, huh? Well, that's kind of nice. She's very pretty. Why won't she look at me?"

            "Oh, she's very shy."

            "I see. How long have you two been here?"

            "Oh, I don't know, as long as I can remember."

            “You have? Why didn't you say something before now?"

            "I wasn't sure if you'd be able to hear me through the window."

            "Sure I can. I can hear you just fine! Crows have very good ears"

            "I'd invite you in, but the window is locked."

            "So it is." Said Jupiter. "Is there any other way into the house?"

            "I don't think so...oh, once a bat came in through the chimney".

            "I don't do chimneys, Little Fella...I mean Jamaica. Too dark. I try to stick to windows and doors."

            "Well, maybe we can do lunch sometime, if I can figure out how to get you into the house."

            "Do lunch? What's that?"

            "It means eat. Sally says it all the time on the phone."

            "Who does she eat with?"

            "I don't know. She meets them somewhere. Is it important?"

            "No. I’m just thinking."

            Jupiter was the perfect friend for Jamaica. He was rowdy and mischievous just like his new friend. And he got into his share of trouble just like Jamaica. What a pair these two were going to make...if they could ever get together!