"Now you've done it, Teddy!" the bear with pigtails scolded the little boy. "We can't play anymore," her sister complained. "That's not true. One of us can climb the tree to get the ball," the bear in yellow shorts pointed out. "Uh-uh. Mum doesn't want us to get our new play clothes torn," the girl explained, holding her skirt like she was about to curtsy. Then she noticed her twin heading for the tree.
The bear grabbed the back of her sister's overalls. The boy in yellow shorts watched the evenly matched twins struggle for a moment, and then he turned to Teddy. Teddy was sucking his thumb. The bear in yellow shorts sighed and started to climb the tree. He slipped a few times, but he made it up to the ball.
As he stood on a lower branch to pick up the ball, he noticed a patch of sky within the tree. This was quite striking, considering it was an overcast day. The bear cub tossed the ball down to his friends and sidled along the branch. Upon examination, the patch of sky revealed itself to be a blue backpack within a hollow of the tree.
The little bear climbed into the hollow to get a better look at the backpack. It was rather plain-looking, with red buckles and no extra pockets. There was something about how the bottom was connected to the backpack, but the bear wasn't sure what. He opened the backpack…and got a sore nose for his troubles.
He held his paws to his nose as his blue eyes brimmed with tears. A red bird stuck her head out of the backpack. "What was that for?" the bear cried. Then the anger left his face. "Were you…scared?" he asked. "No!" the juvenile Breegull cried. "I'm not scared of anything!"
"Then why did you peck at my nose?"
The bird stayed stubbornly silent for a moment. "Banjo! What are you doing up there?!" the twins complained from below. "Do you know where my mama is?" the bird asked. Mama? Could she mean "mummy"? Well, I know how I'd feel if I couldn't find my mummy…
"No, but don't worry. I'll find her. I promise," Banjo said. "Would you like to come out of the backpack?" "Uh-uh!" she cried, ducking back in. Banjo picked up the backpack and placed the straps on his shoulders. The straps were quite loose, and the pack, too large for a cub, rested on the back of his shorts.
Banjo started down the tree, but the added weight of the bird and her backpack was too much. He fell. The bird realized something was wrong and popped her upper body out of the backpack. She flapped her wings, helping Banjo land on his feet. The twins fell to the ground, laughing at the sight.
"Kimmi, Kayla! It wasn't funny!" Banjo cried, the too-big backpack hanging low on his back. "Alright, sorry," Kimmi said. "Can I see the bird?" she asked Banjo. "Maybe," he said scratching the back of his head. He took off the backpack and held it by the straps. The little bird popped her head out again.
"Aww, she's so cute!" Kimmi sighed. "Those green eyes and that little feather thing on her head…" Banjo looked at the bird. "That's a crest," he said. "Well, it's not like our dad's a veterinarian," Kayla said, rolling her eyes. "Birdy. Birdy, birdy!" said Teddy. The Breegull seemed to shrink toward the side of the backpack, eying the drooling toddler.
"So, whacha gonna name it?" Kimmi asked. "Well, I should say she already has a name!" the bird squawked angrily. "I was just about to say that," Banjo said, tipping the backpack so the bird would look up at him. "So, what's your name anyway? I'm Banjo, and these are the twins, Kimmi and Kayla, and their baby brother, Teddy," he continued.
"Kazooie."
Kimmi turned and violently pulled on Kayla's ponytail. Kayla immediately retaliated. "If you hadn't stopped me," Kimmi screamed, "we'd have a pet bird now!" Kazooie turned to look at Banjo. "Are they always like this?" she asked. The clouds, which had been threatening to overflow all day, unleashed their contents upon the town.
The twins ran into their house, followed by Banjo, who was hauling both Kazooie and Teddy. "Mummy, mummy! Look what we found!" Kimmi cried. "Can we keep her? Huh? Huh? Huh?" she said quickly, pointing to Kazooie. "Banjo find Kazooie-birdy," Teddy said, promptly placing his thumb back in his mouth.
Kimmi glared at her brother for blowing her last chance to have a pet Breegull, but their mother inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"No, Kimmi-cub, the bird will go home with Banjo, since he's the one who found it. Dr. Jazz can figure out what to do…"