Parrot to the Rescue in Latin 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 Petrus. "Salvēte! Quō īmus hodiē?" squawked Petrus.
"Īmus ad lacum subdiālem cēnulam facere," replied Jack.
	"Eāmus ad lacum!" squawked Petrus. And with a big flap of the wings, he was off leading the way up the path.
"Calidum est," said Lisa, wiping her face with her hand. "Dēsīderō aliquid pōtāre." "Ego quoque sitiō," said Jack. "Ubi est līmonāta?"
Suddenly, something large swooped down from the sky towards Lisa. Lisa screamed, "Heu!! Fer auxilium! Iuvā mē!"
It was a ferocious magpie and she was on the attack. She thought they were too close to her nest.
"Quid accidit?" cried Jack in alarm. "Abī abhinc!" shouted Jack, flapping his arms around his head as the magpie targeted him. "Vōs iuvābō!" squawked Petrus. 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 Petrus flying above. "Stā, Petre!" called Lisa. "Ā viā aberrāvimus! Ubi est sēmita? Reperīre illam nōn possumus."
	"Vōbīs illam reperīre possum!" squawked Petrus as he zoomed down through the trees and along the path. "Sequimini mē!" he screeched.
"Lentius!" puffed Jack. "Similis tuī volāre nōn possumus! Per silvam nōbīs trānseundum est," he called.
"Ibi est lacus! Tandem!" cried Lisa.
"Grātiās tibi dē auxiliō tuum, Petre!" said Jack. "Libenter," replied Petrus, preening his feathers in embarrassment.
	They sat down beside the lake and started to set up their picnic.
First, they started with some fruit. Petrus called out as his favourite food appeared out of the backpack ...
"... persicum, frāga, armeniaca, ariēna, mālum aurantium ..."
"... cerasa, pirum, ūvae ..."
Petrus eyed all the food with interest as it was placed on the picnic blanket. "Maximē ēsuriō. Possumne illam temptāre, quaesō?" he asked, bobbing his head towards a slice of fruit cake.
...............	"Nōlī edere illam!" said Lisa, grabbing the cake. "Formīcīs obducta est." She tried to brush all the ants off. It was difficult. "Formīcae ēsuriunt ..." said Jack. "Et placenta illīs placet." "Nōlīte sollicitārī!" squawked Petrus. "Placenta mihi placet et formīcae quoque mihi placent!" Lisa raised her eyebrows at Jack. "Ugghhhh!" laughed Jack and Lisa together.
"Pānis!" squawked Petrus. "Meminīstine pānem?" "Meminī," replied Lisa. "Nōn illīus oblīta sum." Petrus happily grabbed a chunk of bread in his beak.
"Habēsne cāseum?" asked Jack. "Certē! Ecce," replied Lisa as she pulled it out of the backpack. "Dā mihi cultrum, quaesō," he added. "Grātiās," mumbled Jack through a mouthful of cheese and bread. They all ate for a while, chatting and laughing together.
"Estne satis vōbīs?" asked Lisa. "Vultisne aliquid amplius?" "Nōn volō ... Stomachus meus dolet. Fortasse nimium erat," said Jack. "Numquam!" squawked Petrus. 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. "Sērō est," squawked Petrus. "Ita, nōbīs nunc domum redeundum est," 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.