Trix Versus the Giant Sky Raisin (A Central Acre Park Adventure)
Trix, the miniature horse, has big dreams. She wants to be the best scientist in the world. She wants to observe everything and know everything. There is just one problem. She has hooves and no hands. How will she record her amazing discoveries?! With the help of all of her animal friends, of course!
Welcome to Central Acre Park! It’s a farm in the middle of a big city surrounded by honking horns, concrete sidewalks, and skyscrapers. It’s full of curious animals who have a lot to learn about the scientific world. Each day is a new adventure. Today, they’re exploring a mysterious buzzing noise from the sky.
***
Trix stood in a field minding her own business. She chewed on grass and closed her eyes against the bright noon sun. She shook her head and flipped her glossy, black mane.
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
A loud buzzing noise like a swarm of bees approached the paddock.
Trix snorted and dropped the mouthful of grass. She opened her eyes to see a whirring thing with wings and a beak. It looked like a bird, but it didn’t sound like a bird.
The thing zoomed overhead and hovered in front of Trix’s face. Then it blinked at her.
A shrieking battle cry came from one of the skyscrapers above. It was Sassy the red-tailed hawk!
The fierce hawk protected the farm and everyone who lived there. Her talons were like eight gleaming knives. She tore into the whirring, buzzing thing.
It gave up right away and fell to the ground.
Trix approached it with caution. She’d seen many different kinds of insects before. The sound it made reminded her of what she and the other animals called “sky raisins.” They were tiny black flies that bit her where she couldn’t reach and left itchy sores. Pendragon and the chickens loved to eat them as a snack. But this was much larger than a sky raisin. If it was a sky raisin, it was a giant one! She flicked it with her tail just to make sure it was dead.
Sassy perched on the fence nearby. “I have defended you, my lady.”
“Thank you, Sassy,” Trix said.
Trix sniffed the Giant Sky Raisin. It didn’t smell like a biting bug. “What is it? It looks like a hummingbird, but it’s definitely not one.”
“That’s a drone,” said a voice. It came from the tall, wavy milkweed. The plant bloomed a soft pink at the edge of the pasture.
“Hello there. Welcome to the farm,” Trix said politely. Sitting atop the milkweed was a bright orange butterfly. She’d seen it on the “RED” list at the barn. That meant the butterfly’s species, or group of the same kind, was protected by the law. The butterfly was definitely welcome in Central Acre Park.
“Who are you?” Sassy asked curiously.
“I’m Mariel, una mariposa monarca — a monarch butterfly,” said the insect. “I spend my winters in México and my summers in the United States. My family and I are part of an endangered species. That means there aren’t many of us left. Humans protect us as much as they can. But other humans sometimes destroy our habitats, or homes. Along with the milkweed, or algodoncillo.”
“That’s terrible!” Trix exclaimed. “What’s so special about milkweed?
“We lay our eggs on it to feed las orugas — the caterpillars. It’s called a ‘host’ plant, and it has lots of yummy milk inside for the caterpillars.”
“How do you know about this thing?” Trix asked. She nudged the Giant Sky Raisin with her front hoof. “What did you call it? A drone?”
“I call it dreadful,” said Sassy from her perch on the fence.
“Puedo ayudar — I can help.” Mariel fluttered to another milkweed plant. “No son pájaros ni bichos — drones aren’t birds or bugs. They’re flying machines. Humans use them to study us and find a way to help us.”
“I’ve seen them flying in the city parks,” Sassy piped up. “But they don’t follow me. Red-tailed hawks aren’t endangered. One of my friends, a plover, says they follow her all over. Her species is endangered, too, just like monarca here. When they find her, humans come and put up fences to keep people away from her home.”
“Sí,” Mariel agreed. “Yes, they find where we live and protect our habitats.”
Trix thought this information over. “The humans must be trying to fix their mistakes by helping endangered species. I guess we should fix the Giant Sky Raisin and get it back to them.”
With Sassy’s help, Trix took the Giant Sky Raisin into the barn and laid out the pieces. Garbanzo the raccoon took notes on the wall of the barn. Because Trix was watching, he couldn’t pretend to take notes like he usually did.
Trix studied all of the parts. There were so many! She decided she would first have to make a list before trying to put them back together. As Garbanzo took notes, a nosy barn cat named Chewy corrected each item on the list. He did so while taking a long tongue bath.
1) Small squares covered in shiny metal
“Microchips for a tiny computer,” said Chewy.
2) Stringy noodles the farm assistants eat when the sun was high in the sky
“Wires,” said Chewy.
3) Power source that makes the thing work
“Rechargeable battery,” said Chewy.
4) Swirly buzzies inside and out that allow for flight
“Propellers and a motor,” said Chewy.
5) Bird costume
“Waterproof plastic casing,” said Chewy.
6) Blinking eye
“Camera,” said Chewy.
Trix ignored the cat and mumbled to herself. “But how do the humans control it from the ground?”
“Remote control,” said Chewy. “There’s a joystick on it so they can tell it where to go. They can tell the drone how high to fly and in what direction.”
Trix shot him a sharp look. “Like when the farm assistants turn on the television from far away?”
Chewy nodded. “Sort of. Television remotes use infrared light to send to a transmitter inside the TV. The drone remote uses radio control.”
“Like the music box,” Trix muttered.
“Radio,” corrected the cat.
“How do you know about this stuff?”
Chewy preened. “One of the farm assistants studies here on her break. She’s studying to be a mechanical engineer. Sometimes, I read her notes. Most of the time, I take a nap on her computer.”
“And you remember all of that?” Garbanzo asked. The raccoon had a perfect memory but highly doubted the cat did. He must be playing a trick on them.
Chewy smiled slyly and left the barn with a flick of his tail.
***
Trix spent hours moving around parts to try to fix the Giant Sky Raisin. She couldn’t quite figure out how it fit together.
Garbanzo picked up a propeller and lazily spun it on his finger. “How’s it going, Trixy?”
Trix didn’t answer. Instead, she muttered softly to herself. Her research assistant shrugged and wandered into the tack room for a nap.
The miniature horse flipped the parts over so that the Giant Sky Raisin lay on its back. The words on its belly were a little scrambled. She slowly read it out loud. “If found, please call Rosie Martinez.” Below that, there was a string of numbers that made no sense to her. There was also a picture of a cheerful flower. Maybe it was a code? She studied the numbers, letters, and flower for a long time.
Finally, Trix decided to ask for help. She dragged the pieces on a saddle blanket back outside. She would see if Mariel knew how to fix it. The monarch butterfly identified the flower as a maravilla, or marigold. Before Trix could ask anything else, the loud voice of a human child startled her. Trix decided to hide behind a nearby tree and observe. She perked up her ears to listen better.
“Mama, Mama, Mama!” the voice squealed. “I found it!”
A little girl ran to the pile of useless plastic and metal. She picked up a large piece and turned it over in her hands. She grinned down at it with glee.
With nimble fingers, the girl quickly put the plastic propellers back in place. Snap, snap, snap. She threaded the wires in a complicated pattern. She pulled out something from her pocket. It sparked when she touched it to the metal chips. She pulled a small black box out of her pocket and pressed a few buttons. The Giant Sky Raisin sputtered and came to life. Buzzzzzzzzzzz.
Sassy landed on a nearby tree branch. She narrowed her eyes. “My lady, do you need me?”
“I’m alright, Sassy,” Trix chuckled. “It looks like Rosie Martinez is going to try to save Mariel and her friends. Maybe we should get ourselves a drone, too.”
“Oh dear, I hope not,” said the hawk.