Forest Guardians Chronicles: A Matter of Humanity by Beth Roose (i wanna iguana read aloud txt) 📕

Princess Celia turned to Bev with a smile, “It is time to go make the circles in the cornfield with the tractor. Remember, Freda will be keeping watch from above and will alert us if anything goes wrong.”

Bitty grabbed Bev’s hand tightly, and they both headed for the tractor. Bev started the tractor and put it in gear, and made four large circles in the cornfield, being careful to fold the corn down but keep the tassels upward.

When the job was complete, Bev drove the tractor back inside the barn so it was out of sight. She smiled at Bitty and said, “We did it, and I’m so glad you were here with me, my little friend.” Bitty grabbed Bev’s hand and lightly squeezed it to indicate that she understood. Then the two of them hopped out of the machine and headed back home.

As they approached the house, the two Pukwudgie tribesmen turned to face them. The larger of the two tribesmen told Bev, “We’re going to head to the back of the field and shape-shift into the form of cows again in order to keep watch. We will alert you if anything happens.” Bev nodded and was happy that she had successfully completed her part of the plan.

Over in the clearing, Cleg and the Hairy Man Tribe gathered before starting the next phase of the plan. “We will begin in an hour and a half,” he sternly stated. “It is vital that all tribesmen are set in their designated locations. When it’s time, we each need to play our part in order to successfully defeat the Hornet Queen.”

The Hairy Man tribesmen lined up with their furry hands out, palms facing upward, and Cleg poured a handful of pine sap in each of their hands. Before they all headed to their designated spots, Cleg reminded them, “It is extremely important to only use infrasound vocalization between one another so that we are able to communicate at a frequency that the Hornet Queen will not be able to detect. If done wrong, it is sure to attract the attention of the Hornet Queen and her minion drones as they feed on the corn at the Grissom Farm.”

He continued in his commanding tone, “Only begin infrasound vocalizations after you hear two whoops! echoing through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. At that point, it will be vital to be on high alert for the hum of the Hornet Queen and her minion drones as the shape-shifted Pukwudgie tribe leads them to us. We will need to be ready for our attack, and her buzzing will alert us.”

The tribesmen let out soft whoops to indicate to their fearless leader that they understand the instructions. Cleg went on, “Remember, the Pukwudgie tribespeople will be shape-shifted into clone hornet queens, so you need to look at the legs for the fading of the shape-shift. Be careful not to harm them. We need them to lead the Hornet Queen and her twelve drones to our location. The Pukwudgie shapeshifters will be moving fast, so be prepared as the others follow in pursuit.”

After that, Cleg and all of his Hairy Man tribesmen went to their designated locations and waited to hear the two whoops! echo through the park system. That was the sign that the battle was beginning.

4

Revision on the Fly

As Bev waited impatiently at home. A thick, eerie fog had settled in on the Cuyahoga River and the Grissom Farm. She tried to look for the Pukwudgie tribesmen who had shape-shifted into cows at the edge of the cornfield, but she could not see them because of the dense fog. She became more nervous by the minute as she sat on the farmhouse porch listening for the whoops! of the tribe. She knew that the Pukwudgie shape-shifters would not be able to see through the fog for the Hornet Queen and her drones.

Bev told Bitty and Ja’al to stay on the porch and keep alert while she ran hastily to get to the Pukwudgie tribesmen and warn them about the thick fog. As she sprinted, the corn stalks and leaves smacked her face and sliced her arms up. Her scratches burned and she longed to stop for a break to catch her breath, but she knew she had to keep going. “I must warn them!” she whispered to herself as she urged on.

As she entered the circles that she and Bitty had mown down with the tractor, she used the bowing corn stalks as a guide to find her way to the edge of the field. Through the white fog, she caught a glimpse of the Pukwudgie men that had shape-shifted into cows. When they saw her, they shifted back to their original form of a Pukwudgie so that she would recognize them.

Bev approached them as soon as they completed shape-shifting back into their natural forms. With urgency in her voice, she told them, “The fog is too thick and will make it almost impossible to see the Hornet Queen and her minion drones when they descend into the cornfield. We need to come up with a new plan immediately.”

One of the Pukwudgie tribesmen chimed in, “I know what we can do to drive the Hornet Queen and her drones to Cleg and the Hairy Man Tribe! We can shape-shift into honey bee queens, the arch enemy of the Hornet Queen. She will surely follow us.”

“Yes, that is a great idea!” Bev exclaimed.

The other Pukwudgie tribesman added, “We can lay inside of the cut circles of corn to get the Hornet Queen’s attention, and when we hear her and her twelve drones descend into the fog, you can set fire to the corn circles. Then, we can fly away and start making the honey bee queen buzzing sound, which will cause the Hornet Queen and her drones to fly up and out of the fog. The smoke will make it easy for