Have you ever been afraid of something? I think everybody is afraid of something, whether it's snakes, spiders, heights, or clowns. But somewhere in the great outdoors of Kentucky, there is a bluejay named Bob who has a really unusual fear for a bird. He is afraid of heights. Because he is afraid of heights, he has trouble with flying. Every time he tries to fly, he starts feeling sick. Even climbing up a hill gets him scared. It makes his stomach turn and makes him feel nauseous.
All of the other birds make fun of him for it and laugh at him. Every day he goes to bird school and they make jokes about how he's afraid of heights and it really hurts Bob's feelings. When he tries to sit down at the lunch table the kids say, "Hey look it's Bob. It's very brave of you to sit at your table. I thought you were too scared." Because of that, Bob has some similarities to Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer because he's always picked on. For those who are wondering, bird school is a place where birds go to learn how to fly, sing, and catch worms. For lunch they eat worms and insects. Considering other birds don't really want to hang out with him, his best friend is a chipmunk named Sam. Sam is a little brown chipmunk with red spikey hair and a long bushy tail. He is a bit small for a chipmunk. Sam gets made fun of a lot too because he wears round, thick glasses. Other animals call him a dork because of how he looks and it really bothers him too. They have been friends since childhood and love to play games, see movies, and trade Pokebird cards together.
One day, Bob got a letter from his grandma saying that her 73rd birthday was coming up and there was going to be a huge birthday party at her birdhouse. His grandma lives in Florida, which is miles away from where Bob lives. As much as Bob would love to go to the party, he is afraid of flying and has no idea how to get there. Every year his brothers and sisters and cousins migrate to Grandma's house for the winter but because he is afraid of heights, Bob always visits Sam's house and stays with him for the winter. Sam's house is a log in the woods, it is really warm and cozy and is full of nuts.
So he went to Sam's house and talked to him about how much he wanted to see his grandma after all these years.
"Maybe you should hitch a ride on a dog's back," Sam suggested.
"No, it seems too dangerous. The dog might be a bird dog and eat me," Bob replied. "I know, maybe I can hitch a ride on the back of a truck."
"Yeah, that's a great idea and maybe I could come with you," Sam said excitedly.
"Sure. If you're up for an adventure," Bob told Sam.
The next day, Bob and Sam made a long journey out of the woods and went into a little town. The woods were beautiful, they could hear the sound of birds chirping and could see Fall leaves on the ground. Because they had never been out of the woods in their lives, they didn't know what to think about all of the sights everywhere. They had seen cars on movies and in books, but never up close. There was a truckstop next to the highway and they saw a man with a Florida license plate driving a big red truck. Bob walked up to the truck and said, "This looks like the one we're looking for."
"Yeah, let's go," Sam said.
So they jumped into the back of the truck and rode through many different states. They enjoyed seeing all the buildings and people and hearing sounds they had never heard before. On the way to Grandma's house, the man stopped to get something to eat.
Next to the restaurant, Bob saw a sign saying Welcome to Florida so he and Sam thought that it might be a good idea to just walk from there.
On the way to her house, they saw a little turtle named Rex who looked like he was crying. The turtle was wearing a NASCAR shirt and hat.
"What's wrong, little guy?" Bob asked the turtle.
"I'm sad because I'm a turtle and I'll never get to be a race car driver. I've always liked speed and everybody talks about how slow I am. It really bothers me," the turtle replied.
"Well of course you can. Anything you can do anything you set your mind to."
"Wow, I've never thought of that. I'm going to be the first race car driving turtle from this moment on."
On the way, they talked about their favorite famous movie birds. They left Rex at the restaurant and started heading in the direction of Grandma's house. Before they left Bob printed off of a map from the Birdnet, which is a wireless Internet service for birds.
"Is Tweety a boy or a girl?" Bob asked
"I don't know, I've always wondered that myself," Sam said.
"I mean, he talks like a boy but he has very long eyelashes."
"Yeah I know, that is pretty weird."
Then after a long walk, they finally got to Grandma's house. Her birdhouse has wooden floors and it smelled like cake. As soon as he walked in the door he saw his Grandma and Grandpa. His Grandma was a little bird with grey and white feathers who talked in a slow voice. His Grandpa was sitting there complaining because he hadn't seen Bob since he was a baby. All of his brothers, sisters, and cousins were shocked that he had made it to the party. Bob hugged his Grandma and Grandpa and introduced them to Sam.
They had a great birthday party. They ate cake, played games, and opened presents. It was the best birthday party ever. Then Bob turned on the TV and saw the news. A man had won a NASCAR race.
"I would like to thank my good luck charm. My pet turtle, Rex" he said as he pulled out the turtle they had met earlier.
"You know what? I kinda like it here in Florida. I think I'll stay. I'm actually thinking about going to flying school here," Bob said.
"Yeah, that would be really good. Why don't you stay here with me," his grandma said.
"But wait, what about me?" Sam asked.
"Aw, what the heck. You can live with us too," Bob's grandma said.
"Woo-hoo, I'm living in Florida, now!" Sam said excitedly and they had a great time at their new home.
The End
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