I tiptoed out, and seeing no one around, I jumped down into the sea with a splash.

A DAY LATER…

My flippers ached from swimming thousands of miles in the freezing ocean. Suddenly, I saw a speck of land in the distance. At first I thought I was hallucinating, but as I swam closer, I was sure. I hadn’t rested in more than two days, and I was absolutely exhausted. Energized by the thought of resting, I swam faster than ever, forcing my aching flippers to propel me forward. At last, I reached the island, and collapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep.

My name is Percy Tux, and just a few days ago I had been where I belonged, playing with Lola, my little sister, in the Antarctic. Suddenly, we had heard a deafening BANG, and a second later I was captured by a group of humans. I looked up to see a gun pointed at me, and the next thing I knew, I was being herded onto a ship with hundreds of other captured penguins, just like me. I strained my short little neck as far as it would go to look for Lola, but she was nowhere in sight. The burly men crammed us into a tight little space, and closed the heavy lid, blocking off all sunlight. Now I was in a totally different place, probably hundreds of miles away from my home, and just as far away from Lola.

I woke up with a start. Where was I? My mind and heart raced. I recalled what had happened, and started trembling uncontrollably. I was alone on this island, and who knew who, or what, inhabited this island? I examined my surroundings closely. As far as I could see, there was only the white, sandy beach and a huge, dense forest. Suddenly, I heard a thunderous growl. My mind was alert, but I couldn’t tell where it came from. There it was again! Oh, stupid, it was only my own stomach! I hadn’t realized how hungry I was, I had been too busy worrying to notice my hunger. I had only eaten one fish for the last two days, and by now I was absolutely starving. I didn’t want to dive back into the icy ocean to catch a fish, so my only chance was the dark forest, and I headed towards it.

The first thing I noticed was the unnerving silence. It wasn’t like the usual woods back home, where the woods would be full of life. It was just the opposite. As I walked on, I noticed a mouthwatering aroma. I followed the scent, and found an enormous tree filled with the, biggest, ripest berries I ever saw. I would have plucked all of them and ate them– it was so tempting— but there was just one problem; I couldn’t reach a single one. My short, stubby legs weren’t made for climbing. I tried hopping, but that didn’t work out either. Feeling baffled, I sat down to think.

Just then, I heard a rustling noise above me. My first instinct was to flee, but then I thought, above me? Only birds lived in trees, right? Birds aren’t scary at all! A second later, a round face peered out from the leaves. “Agghh!” I screamed. My shriek pierced the silence. This was definitely NOT the face of a bird; it was like nothing I had ever seen before. The beast shrunk back, as if it were scared of me. Why would it be scared of me? I was just a penguin after all. Maybe it wasn’t a terrifying beast either. I timidly stepped forward a step and said “hi” in a small, tiny voice. The animal cocked its head and stared at me intently for a second, then broke out into a huge grin. It chattered excitedly, and then said “hi” back. It could speak the same language as me! I finally had someone to talk to; she seemed friendly enough. I boldly took a step forward and said, “My name is Percy. What about you?” She smiled at me and replied, “I’m Clair.” She paused and asked, “Do you need some help?” I blushed and replied, “Sure. Thanks.” Clair nimbly climbed up the tree and plucked a big, ripe berry to give to me. I reached for it, and then took a huge bite of it. It was absolutely delicious! It was sweet, and very juicy. I asked her what kind of berry it was, because I had never tasted anything like it. Clair laughed, and replied, “It’s not a berry! It’s a peach, another kind of fruit.” I had no idea what a “fruit” was either, but I just nodded my head. Neither of us knew what to say next, so we both just looked at one another. But suddenly, our awkward silence was interrupted by a menacing growl. And this time, it definitely was not my stomach.
“Run!” she cried. I didn’t need to be told twice. I sprinted as fast as my stubby little legs would take me, but that wasn’t enough. I could hear heavy breathing behind me, and soon I felt a puff of hot breath on my neck. At the last second, I swung up into a tree.
I looked down, petrified, at the beast that had been chasing me. It was gigantic, with black stripes down its orange back. It had enormous, snapping jaws. It growled, obviously frustrated that it couldn’t climb the tree. It paced around, then finally lie down at the base of the tree. I heaved a sigh, then realized I was high up in a tree! How had I gotten up here? I couldn’t fly! I looked up and saw Clair perched even higher than me on a branch. I looked up to thank her, but she responded with, “Shhh!” We waited there silently, hoping for the beast to go away, but our hopes were in vain. All of a sudden, we heard a screech, and we both looked up, startled.

A bright blue and yellow bird had just landed right above Clair. It flapped its wings, and cawed again. Before either of us could tell it to watch out, it flew to the ground less than a yard away from the beast. The beast snapped its jaws at it, and sprang up and charged right at the bird. Clair and I both screamed, “Run!” and the bird flew up, just a millisecond away from being chomped in half. It flew the opposite direction, away from us. The bird called, “Run!” back to us, and we understood that he was helping us. Clair started scrambling through the trees, but I obviously couldn’t climb. She glanced back at me, then started coming back. Just then, a scratchy voice said, “I’ll help.” I was so startled I jumped way up into the air. I looked around, but couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. I started to waddle carefully along the branch again, but then I heard a sharp, “Ouch!” I found I had stepped on something rough and hard, and I lost my balance and started falling backwards off the tree.

Just as I thought I was a goner, something scaly wrapped around me and slowly started to pull me back. I looked up, and saw two eyes staring at me. It was followed by a long green body that blended in so perfectly with the tree I hadn’t noticed it was there before. “Oh!” I exclaimed, surprised. He helped me onto the tree, and I thanked him for his kindness. He assured me it was nothing, and introduced himself as Felix. We were interrupted by a squawking noise, followed by a flapping sound. The same bird that had helped save us landed on the branch with a flutter of his wings. He introduced himself as Kipo, and Felix and I each introduced ourselves. Not before long, Clair was with us again, although at first she wouldn’t come near Felix. They all wondered where I had come from, so I began my story.

When I finished my story, all of them felt sorry for me. I told them it was okay, although deep inside I didn’t agree. In that short day we had already become best friends, so we decided to find a place where we could live closer together. We scavenged through the forest looking for a good place to settle. We finally agreed on a safe place. Clair scampered onto the tree, and Sam also flew up. Felix nestled into a pile of leaves at the base, and I crawled into a hollow log, where I spent the night.

The next morning, we woke as soon as the sun rose. I was nearly starved to death! Clair went off to pick some “peaches” and Kipo flew off for some seeds. Although the “peaches” from yesterday were delicious, I preferred to eat what I had always eaten --- fish. No one asked what Felix was going to eat, and when I asked, I knew why. So, I strolled off by myself out of the forest, back to the sandy white beach. I could smell the salty taste of the ocean and hear the waves beckoning to me. I dove into the sea with a splash, and felt the familiar feeling of the cool water. I spotted a fish, and caught it in my beak. Yum! Refreshed, I scrambled out of the water and waddled back into the woods.

For the rest of the day, we just chatted or had some fun in the woods. At night, we went back to our shelter and went to sleep.
Days passed, then weeks. Soon, I had lost count of how long I had been there. I adapted to my new home, and we had lots of fun. Every day was a carefree, interesting day. I began to know this once strange, new place as my home. I put my old life behind me, and almost forgot all about it. Almost, but not quite.
Every day was a happy day, and I had all my friends to keep me company, but one part of me still longed for Lola, and my old life. Deep inside, I knew I didn’t belong here. I belonged in the icy climate of Antarctica. One day, I knew the time had come to leave.
When I told my friends, they were all astounded. “You don’t like it here?” asked Clair. I told them this was a great place, but I didn’t belong. I just had to know where Lola was, or else my heart wouldn’t be at rest. In the end, the matter was settled. That night, I was so giddy with excitement that it took me a while to fall asleep. I tossed and turned for most of the night, pondering over the decision that I had made.

The next morning, it was time for me to leave. The sun had barely risen, and a rosy glow still tinged the east. We all hugged goodbye, and I promised to come back and visit them if I ever had the chance. I took a deep breath, wiped the tears from my face, and plunged into the sparkling waters of the ocean to what lay unknown ahead.