To see the Pinyin pronunciation, let your mouse hover over the Chinese characters. Parrot to the Rescue in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified Text) by Mia Bowen Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved
	Jack and Lisa were on school holidays, but it hadn't been a fun holidays yet. It had been raining every day!
"Look!" cried Jack, pointing out the window. "Finally the sun is out!" "Why don't you go on a picnic? You can spend all day outside," suggested Mum.
	First they went down to the shed to find Pítè. " 你好！今天我们要去哪儿？ " squawked Pítè.
" 我们要去湖边野餐。 " replied Jack.
	" 我们去湖边吧！ " squawked Pítè. And with a big flap of the wings, he was off leading the way up the path.
" 天气热。 " said Lisa, wiping her face with her hand. " 我要喝点东西。 " " 我也渴。 " said Jack. " 柠檬汽水在哪儿？ "
Suddenly, something large swooped down from the sky towards Lisa. Lisa screamed, " 哎哟！救命！ 救我！ "
It was a ferocious magpie and she was on the attack. She thought they were too close to her nest.
" 发生了什么事？ " cried Jack in alarm. " 走开！ " shouted Jack, flapping his arms around his head as the magpie targeted him. " 我会帮助你！ " squawked Pítè. He chased the magpie high up into the tree, while Jack and Lisa disappeared down the path.
	They ran and ran and ran until they were out of breath ... "Slow down!" cried Lisa. "I think we're lost! I can't see the way to the lake any more."
Lisa looked up into the sky and saw Pítè flying above. " 停下，皮特！ " called Lisa. " 我们迷路了！ 路在哪儿？ 我们找不到它。 "
	" 我可以帮你们找到它！ " squawked Pítè as he zoomed down through the trees and along the path. " 跟着我！ " he screeched.
" 慢些！ " puffed Jack. " 我们不能象你一样飞！ 我们必须穿过灌木丛。 " he called.
" 湖边到了！ 终于到了！ " cried Lisa.
" 谢谢你的所有帮助，皮特！ " said Jack. " 不用谢。 " replied Pítè, preening his feathers in embarrassment.
	They sat down beside the lake and started to set up their picnic.
First, they started with some fruit. Pítè called out as his favourite food appeared out of the backpack ...
" … 一个桃子、草莓、杏子、一根香蕉、一个橙子 … "
" … 樱桃、一个梨、葡萄 … "
Pítè eyed all the food with interest as it was placed on the picnic blanket. " 我很饿。我能尝那个吗？ " he asked, bobbing his head towards a slice of fruit cake.
...............	" 不要吃！ " said Lisa, grabbing the cake. " 它上面全是蚂蚁。 " She tried to brush all the ants off. It was difficult. " 蚂蚁很饿 … " said Jack. " 而且它们喜欢蛋糕。 " " 不要担心！ " squawked Pítè. " 我喜欢蛋糕，也喜欢蚂蚁！ " Lisa raised her eyebrows at Jack. "Ugghhhh!" laughed Jack and Lisa together.
" 面包！ " squawked Pítè. " 你记得带面包吗？ " " 是的。 " replied Lisa. " 我没有忘记。 " Pítè happily grabbed a chunk of bread in his beak.
" 你有奶酪吗？ " asked Jack. " 肯定有！ 在这儿。 " replied Lisa as she pulled it out of the backpack. " 请给我刀子。 " he added. " 谢谢。 " mumbled Jack through a mouthful of cheese and bread. They all ate for a while, chatting and laughing together.
" 够了吗？ " asked Lisa. " 你们要多一些吗？ " " 不要了 … 我肚子疼。 可能吃太多了。 " said Jack. " 不是！ " squawked Pítè. They all laughed.
They spent the rest of the afternoon climbing trees, exploring and running around.
The sun was starting to get very low in the sky. " 太晚了。 " squawked Pítè. " 是啊，我们现在必须回家。 " said Jack.
They packed up their things and headed home down the path away from the lake .... tired, happy and not the slightest bit hungry. Soon they could see the roof of their house through the trees. It was good to be home.
...............	Magpie was happy to be alone again. She was even happier when she discovered some bread they had left behind.