Mister Cassowary by Samantha Wheeler Read Free Book Online Page A

for a while. ‘What did you find?’ Abby demanded, bringing her face close to mine. She smelt like strawberry bubblegum and sunscreen.
    I chewed my lip. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share my secret. But then, maybe she could tell me more about caring for the babies. ‘Cassowary chicks,’ I admitted.
    Abby’s mouth dropped open. ‘Chicks? Are you sure? Where?’
    â€˜In the swamp. And here. In Grandad Barney’s garden.’
    â€˜Why didn’t you tell me?’
    â€˜I am telling you.’
    â€˜How many?’ She pivoted around, looking in the long grass. ‘How big were they?’
    â€˜There were two. And they were about,’ I held my hand above the ground at the height of a 30 cm school ruler, ‘this high.’
    Abby grinned. ‘Wait till I tell Pop. And Cathy. Did you see their dad?’
    The thud of the cassowary hitting our car echoed in my ears. My chest grew tight. ‘There was no dad,’ I croaked.
    â€˜What? But the dad’s always around somewhere. You just didn’t see him, that’s all. Cassowaries can be very shy.’
    â€˜Well, I saw them yesterday, and there was no dad then. And they were just here, and there was still no dad.’
    â€˜What, they were here today?’
    â€˜Yeah, a second ago. Pecking around my feet.’
    â€˜You weren’t feeding them, were you?’
    My eyes fell to the ground. ‘No.’
    â€˜You were so! Look, your face’s gone red again. You can’t feed them! What if a cassowary starts attacking you? You could get scratched to death over a rotten tomato.’
    I straightened my shoulders. ‘They won’t attack me,’ I replied. ‘They like me.’
    â€˜Don’t you remember what I said about your grandad? Big Blue was probably cute when he was a chick, too. But when cassowaries get older, and they think everyone carries food, things go wrong. What do you reckon the other cassowaries will do when they discover that you’re handing out free breakfast?’
    â€˜But the babies need me,’ I persisted. ‘I’m teaching them. They don’t know how to look after themselves without their dad.’
    â€˜You can’t feed cassowaries, Flynn!’ Abby wedged her hands firmly onto her hips. ‘It’s against the law. We need to tell Cathy. She’ll look after them.’
    â€˜But I’m looking after them.’
    â€˜I mean properly. At the rehab centre. Cathy and the other rangers know what the cassowaries need. They look after orphans and injured cassowaries all the time. You can’t just feed them ’cause they’re cute.’
    My face grew hot. I loved Peanut and Jumble. I didn’t want them shipped off to some rehab centre. But then, a thought occurred to me. I glanced sideways at Abby.
    â€˜So, at the centre,’ I began, ‘they look after injured cassowaries, right? All injured cassowaries?’
    Abby pursed her lips and looked at me as if I were an annoying puppy needing to be reminded not to bark. But then she nodded. ‘Uh huh.’
    â€˜So, if the dad of my cassowary chicks is there, we could take his babies back to him, couldn’t we?’
    â€˜Yeah, if he’s there. But what if he’s not? He could be in the forest somewhere, dead.’
    My heart lurched. Please don’t let him be dead. ‘What if he’s injured and can’t get back to the rainforest?’ I said, hating the pleading tone of my voice. ‘Wouldn’t the rangers have found him by now?’
    â€˜What are you talking about?’ Abby demanded.
    I took a deep breath. ‘It’s our fault the chicks have no dad.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    I couldn’t look Abby in the eyes. The words formed on my lips, but the sound wouldn’t come out. ‘We … we hit one,’ I finally blurted.
    â€˜You what?’
    â€˜We hit a cassowary. On the way here. It ran