The Great Dodo Comeback by Fiona Sandiford

Author:Fiona Sandiford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd

In hut 187, Professor Flowers showed them the splat on his shirt from the day before.

“One of the side effects of my job, unfortunately,” he grumbled. “Bird poop gets everywhere.”

“We’ll have that out in no time,” said Marion, examining the unsightly splodge. “No problem at all. Mimi?”

The professor looked at Mimi. “Fire away,” he said, holding out the shirt.

“Bye bye, bird poop!” called Mimi, and she sprayed a couple of shots of the solution onto it. There was a smell of citrus fruit in the air and, as if by magic, the stain vanished.

“There you go, completely gone!” cheered Mimi.

The professor was impressed. “It’s amazing. You’ve come up with a miracle formula there,” he said. “Thank goodness for whatever-you-call-it. Does it have a name?”

“We haven’t thought of one yet,” admitted Marion.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it. If I wasn’t a scientist, I’d say it was magic. What’s in it?”

“That’s top secret,” said Mimi. “All natural ingredients, of course. But as for the details – sorry, I can’t tell you.”

That evening, Leni ate dinner with her parents as usual, but the atmosphere was unusually quiet. Tense, even.

“Leni, aren’t those professors getting a bit carried away?” said her mum finally.

“Carried away? What do you mean?” asked Leni.

“Those pigeons squawk all day, all I hear is whirring, shouting and the sound of things being sawn up,” said her mum, waving her knife around. “And I can’t imagine what the inside of their huts look like. I’m worried they’ll put off the other guests.”

“What other guests?” remarked her dad under his breath. It was true, business wasn’t exactly booming.

The fact was, they’d been happy to have any guests staying at all in the quiet low season.

“I’m learning all about DNA and genes,” said Leni eagerly. “It’s made me surer than ever that I want to be a vet when I grow up.”

Her mum put her cutlery down and said, “That’s wonderful, but…”

“I know they’re a bit noisy, but the only people they’re annoying are each other,” added Leni. Her mum couldn’t think of an answer to that.

It was only when Leni had walked off with the stack of dinner plates that she brought it up again with her husband. “But Roshan, she is spending so much time with the professors,” she said. “She’s ten years old. She should be playing with her friends during the holidays. I’m worried she’ll blow herself up.”

“She’s pretty sensible,” replied her dad. “And more importantly, she’s happy. She’s the happiest she’s been in ages. This is a chance for her to be part of something special and the professors seem to like having her around. She’s so excited. Just look at her face.”

It was true. Leni’s brown eyes sparkled and she was totally absorbed when she was helping the professors. Even when she was doing the dishes, she was miles away, thinking about dodos. Did they coo like pigeons, only in deeper voices? What did they like to eat? Were they really as chubby as the artists used to paint them in the olden days?

Her mum looked thoughtful.

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