Dear Pandas,

Max sure did get himself in some trouble yesterday.

Hey, it could have happened to anyone!

You’re right. Let me start from the beginning. As you know, yesterday we were in the pirate bar – maybe you were there, too. Did any of you happen to see the blue parrot in the corner? With the shimmering, blue feathers? He sure was a pretty one! I asked Pandabeard where he got the parrot and he told me that this is a rather rare specimen as well as extremely treasured due to its unusual feathers. Apparently the feathers are just as valuable as diamonds!

The parrot just flew onto the ship one day and made himself at home in the crow’s nest. I guess he got the wrong idea of what kind of bird he was! Pandabeard: “As my men saw the bird, I could see the greed boiling up in their bellies. They wanted to pluck him clean as a Christmas goose so that they could sell his feathers.” But Pandabeard was faster than they were. He got to the bird before his crew and protected it from a dark fate. Since then he’s protected the parrot, which has been the apple of his eye.

Emphasis on the one eye…

Ha ha, Max. I’m sure you Pandas can imagine how Pandabeard protected and cherished his precious pet. There was a lot going on in the bar today – cups and mugs flying all over the place. And one cup crashed against the cage…

Yeah, the one that I threw…

The cage tumbled to the floor, the door flew open, and the parrot flew right out! Can you even imagine how Pandabeard scolded us for that? To quote: “If you don’t find that parrot and bring him back to me, I’ll…I’ll…ban you forever from the pirate bar! That’s right! You’ll never be allowed in again!”

We don’t want to risk it. So now we are looking for a lost bird. How on earth does a Panda go about finding a bird?

We’ll give you an update this Friday.

Be good Pandas,

Max and Ella