Rio 2 by Christa Roberts Page A

of loggers in the distance. Ahead was a clearing where all the trees had been cut down. It looked like a war zone.
    Up ahead was an area of clear-cut forest just off the logging road. He realized that this wasn’t far from the macaw village.
    Time was running out.
    This was a big-time operation. The foreman drove a big truck, talking animatedly on the radio to his crew. A bulldozer headed through the brush, pushing smaller trees down. Blu landed and looked around, feeling helpless. What could one little bird do against all this?
    â€œThink of something,” he urged himself. And when a huge harvester came straight at him, Blu did the only thing he could think of. He flew into the cab and yanked the keys from the ignition. “Hey!” The driver grabbed him.
    But Jewel was there. She swooped in and smacked the driver on the side of his face. Boink! The driver let Blu go and Blu and Jewel flew out of reach.
    Trees were falling all around them. And there, in the middle of it all, were Linda and Tulio.
    Blu flew straight for Linda, landing on her shoulder. And as the bulldozer roared toward them, Linda and Tulio locked hands. Blu feared the worst—but the bulldozer finally stopped, just inches from Tulio. The driver was staring at something—and when Blu saw what it was, his heart swelled with pride: the entire flock of blue macaws, hundreds of them, ready to fight for the jungle.
    â€œDad!” Jewel cried.
    â€œBirds of blue feathers,” Eduardo began.
    â€œHave to stick together!” Carla, Bia, and Tiago finished.
    â€œGet them!” Eduardo shouted, and Blu knew they were all in this together now. The birds swarmed to attack the loggers, who hid behind their machines.
    â€œIt’s on, baby!” Pedro cried as Carla led the talent-show animals into battle.
    Rocks rained down on the machines, denting roofs, jamming truck tracks, and plugging exhaust pipes. The excavator roared into action, uprooting a tree and swinging it toward the birds.
    Then, a bulldozer clipped Eduardo, knocking him to the ground. Blu watched as a bulldozer’s shovel moved toward him. But before the shovel could strike, it was grabbed by an excavator’s claw: Linda was in the driver’s seat!
    The two machines battled for supremacy—until Felipe arrived with the red macaws.
    The red macaws pelted the machine with seed pods, giving Linda the leverage she needed to tip the bulldozer over. The birds banded together to destroy the machines, unscrewing bolts and sticking coconuts in tailpipes. Together, the two tribes created a purple, swirling squadron of angry birds.
    But it wasn’t over yet. A tree fell, and behind it was the big boss, holding a match to a fuse that was connected to sticks of dynamite tied to every tree.
    â€œHey! No pyrotechnics without parental permission!” Tiago shouted as he manned a construction claw. He scooped the boss up—but the man managed to drop a lit match, which landed on the fuse, lighting it.
    As the flame made its way up the fuse, Blu made a decision: he grabbed the dynamite string with his beak and flew with it into the sky.
    â€œBlu, no!” Jewel cried, frightened.
    Once Blu was above the trees, he used his best soccer kick to knock the dynamite away from his body . . . Boom! A huge explosion lit up the sky. Smoke enveloped Blu as he fell . . .

Chapter 13

    â€œHello. How’s it dangling?”
    Blu blinked. He was upside down, tangled in vines below the treetops. A bird wearing a mask was next to him. “Where’s Jewel?” Blu mumbled. “The kids?”
    â€œNot to worry, Blu,” the bird told him. “I will soon relieve you of your domestic duties.”
    Blu blinked again. “Sorry—do I know you?”
    The bird grimaced. “Sorry indeed.” He clutched Blu’s neck, making him gasp.
    â€œBob?” It was Carla, along with Bia, Tiago, and Jewel. “What are you