John Golden had never been in the famous Bird Colony. He’d only heard stories of it in his childhood bark books. For being a bird from Loonier Country, that was strange, but he decided not to let his guilt show. After all, he was John the Red-Crowned Crane.
He opened his eight-foot-long wings and soared down to Bird Colony’s entrance tunnel. The entire colony was hidden within the massive tree. Its trunk’s innards had been cut out, and branches had been moved inside, each of which led to a different activity. John felt like he was in the tree where the Swiss Family Robinson lived. It was miraculous. Bird Colony was the perfect place for him to celebrate his 2nd birthday.
Soon after he entered, John took a moment to admire Bird Colony’s heart, and then he started to explore. The first place he went was a restaurant run by a family of storks. The tables were made out of wood, and cold grass sheltered itself underneath John’s long legs. The whole restaurant smelled of fresh bark and pine.
John shuffled to one wooden table and lifted his right leg. With his claws, he picked up the bark menu and looked it over.
A beautiful Great Blue Heron, the waitress, soon approached him, and she held a smaller piece of bark in her claws. “What can I get for you today, my fine bird?” she asked John.
“Ooh, I don’t know,” he answered, licking the sides of his beak. “How about I try the Fresh Fish in A Bowl, ma’am? I’m here today to meet Neil Birdstrong, the famous astrobird, so I need to be full of energy! This is also my first time at Bird Colony, ma’am, but I have to admit, already it is amazing!”
The heron blushed—“Why, thank you”—and scratched John’s order down on her piece of bark with her claw. “I’ll get your fish out here as soon as possible.”
John watched as she lowered her claw and flew toward the kitchen. The Fresh Fish in a Bowl was exactly that: a fresh fish in a bowl. John slurped it down in one gulp and thanked the kind waitress when she flew over to check on him.
After lunch, he immediately started his search for Neil Birdstrong. He had just returned from his last mission and had decided to spend a few days in Bird Colony before he returned to his space center. Neil Birdstrong was John’s hero. He really wanted to meet him in person.
Unfortunately, he had a slight problem. John had no idea where Neil Birdstrong was staying. Because Bird Colony was so huge and he had never been there before, he ended up going on a scavenger hunt.
From the heart of the tree, John flew to each of the branches and called for his hero, but he could never find him. Ugh, where was he?
The last place John went to that wrapped up his scavenger hunt was a barber shop. Birds of all species rested on mats with their eyes closed, and barber birds trimmed their feathers and gave them new dues.
John was disappointed when he learned he still hadn’t found Neil Birdstrong, so he decided to ask one of the barbers where he was. “Um, excuse me?” he asked in a low voice, and the barber turned to face him. “I’m looking for Neil Birdstrong.”
“Ah, perfect!” the barber soon announced. “You’re here!”
“I am?” John asked. “No, no, no, sir, I—”
“No words! No words!” the barber bird interrupted, grabbing John’s wing. He pulled him over to one mat where a tall Snowy Egret stood and placed him beside his table of barber equipment. “Ms. Famina, I have found the perfect barber bird to trim your feathers!”
“Wait, what?” John yelped. “No, sir, you don’t understand! I’m not a barber! I’m looking for Neil Birdstrong!”
However, the barber set a pair of scissors in his foot palm and announced, “Good luck! Give her a fabulous feather due while I enjoy a fabulous creamed fish soup!” With that, he gave John’s back a pat and left him alone with Ms. Famina.
“Yoo-hoo!” she soon called. Lifting her foot, she gave her claws a snap. “I don’t have all day, fellow barber! I have a huge bash to go to tonight, so you need to make me look marvy! I want my feathers trimmed and shined, but my head needs to look the best.”
John sighed, “As you wish,” and went straight to work.
Ms. Famina fell asleep, and it wasn’t long until she silently snored.
John’s experience as a barber didn’t go well at all. Instead of trimming Ms. Famina’s feathers down to a perfect length, he accidentally took the whole layer of feathers off the top of her head. Ms. Famina was now balled.
John gulped. He picked up the layer of feathers and stuck them back on her head. When he was reaching the end of his horrific experience, suddenly, the door of the barber shop opened, and Neil Birdstrong appeared in the doorway. It was Neil Birdstrong, a fabulous Sandhill Crane!
“Neil Birdstrong!” John gasped, dropping his scissors.
Mr. Birdstrong soon approached him and asked, “Are you the one they call John Golden?”
“I am.”
Neil Birdstrong chuckled and wrapped his wing around John’s shoulder, “Welcome. We have much to talk about. I don’t think you are really meant to be a barber.”
The Red-Crowned Crane couldn’t help but smile. As he and Neil Birdstrong left the barber shop, Ms. Famina, behind, woke up and lifted her wing.
“Yoo-hoo! Is my fabulous new due finished Mr. Barber? Mr. Barber?” And that was when she realized the whole top of her head was bald.
ns216.73.217.69da2
and then Add to home screen.