Duncan Takes a Vacation

Chapter 10

             
                   When we woke up the next morning, the sun was like a giant fireball lighting up the sky.  It didn't take very long for the temperature to rise, and the cold desert started to heat up like a huge oven.  Pops warned me that the intense heat had a weird effect on people if they stayed out in the sun too long.  He suggested that I stay in the shade for protection. 

          Well, being a stubborn sort of individual, I figured that I was too cool to be affected by the sun, so I decided to go exploring while Pops got his gear together.  Like a bullet, I shot up, up into the air. The giant crater next to me soon became smaller and smaller.  As I glided carefully in the sky, I realized that Pops was right: the heat was starting to bother me.  I figured I could handle it, so I continued my flight.  "What I wouldn't give for a dip in a pool," I said to myself.  After all, I was pretty hot, and the idea of a "bird bath" seemed wonderful. 

          No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, when there - right below me - was a large pool of water.  As I have always said, "If opportunity knocks, take advantage of it, and answer the door," so I did.  I dove as straight as an arrow; right for the cool pool of water. 

          Faster and faster I went, thinking only of how this wonderful water would cool my hot body and quench my thirst.  I needed a bath anyway, so I would be able to wash the "trail dust" off my body. 

          Suddenly, as I got closer to the pool of water, it mysteriously disappeared right in front of my eyes.  "Am I going crazy?"  I thought to myself.  Had this parrot gone cuckoo?  I fluttered around, and there behind me, was another pool of water.  Was this the same water hole, or was it a different one? 

          I became confused, but I was getting hotter by the second.  This time I flew faster and faster towards the water.  But again, as soon as I got close, it disappeared.  Had my mind snapped?  Was I imagining this?  By now I was totally confused, because directly behind me was another pool of water. 

          This time I wasn't taking any chances, so I flew straight towards the water and closed my eyes so it wouldn't disappear.  Doesn't that make sense?  It couldn't go anywhere if you didn't see it go.  I thought that was pretty smart.  Well, my reasoning was pretty stupid because I flew straight into the side of the crater.  Crash!  What a sound!  You could have heard it a mile away.  My poor beak was bent like a pretzel. 

          Pops heard the crash and came running.  "What happened here, Little Buddy?"  he asked. "Did you fly into a mirage?  I warned you about the heat.  Now get over here and set-a-spell in the shade."   He then explained that a mirage was caused by the heat of the sun causing a reflection, making you think you actually saw something that wasn't really there.