Juliet Nearly a Vet: Rainforest Camp

by Rebecca Johnson

  About the Book

  Meet Juliet and join her on another of her wonderful animal adventures. Juliet is ten years old and nearly a vet! Juliet’s class is off on a school camp to the rainforest. Chelsea, Maisy and Juliet are excited about all the different animals they might spot on their nature walks and torchlight treks. Chelsea is NOT excited about the creepy crawlies they might find! Luckily Juliet takes her vet kit along – just in case she finds any animals in need of help…

  Contents

  CHAPTER 1 Vets need to manage people as well

  CHAPTER 2 Vets know how to protect animals from people

  CHAPTER 3 Vets love exploring new places

  CHAPTER 4 Vets need to be quiet sometimes

  CHAPTER 5 Vets have to stay calm

  CHAPTER 6 Vets need to be quiet sometimes

  CHAPTER 7 Vets need to listen as well as look

  CHAPTER 8 Vets need to stand up for what they believe in

  For Sharon Millar,

  who dedicated her life to children.

  X R

  ‘Are you ready, Juliet?’ Dad calls from the kitchen. ‘The note says they want you at school by 8 o’clock.’

  ‘Just about, Dad,’ I say brightly, as I look down at my PJs and bulging suitcase and pull a face that makes Chelsea laugh.

  I throw on my clothes and we are out the door and off down the road in no time at all.

  Mrs Hodby marks our names off the roll. We are all so excited to be going on school camp in a rainforest and are talking and laughing so much we can hardly hear each other over the noise in the bus.

  Portia and Tiffany are the last to arrive. When they get on, everyone goes quiet for a moment. They’re dressed like they are going to a fancy dinner out somewhere.

  ‘Look at all their jewellery!’ whispers Chelsea.

  Mrs Hodby doesn’t look too happy. ‘Hurry up and find a seat, girls. I hope you’ve got more sensible shoes than those for our bushwalks, or you are going to end up with very sore feet.’

  All of the spare seats are singles. Portia walks halfway down the aisle and whispers something to Maisy, and she jumps up and moves to the seat behind her so the two of them can sit together.

  Chelsea and I look at each other and shake our heads.

  We wave goodbye to our parents and head off. This is going to be the best three nights ever.

  It takes a while to get there, and Mr Thomson, one of the teachers, has the whole bus singing songs about one hundred green bottles hanging on a wall and stuff. We all complain a bit at first, but really it is fun.

  When we finally arrive, we pile out of the bus and collect our bags. Mine is way bigger than Chelsea’s and Maisy’s, but they know why and help me lift it down.

  ‘What’s in the case?’ says a voice behind me.

  I know straight away who it is. I turn around to face Portia, but don’t answer.

  ‘Well, I know it isn’t going to be clothes!’ she sniggers as she looks me up and down.

  Maisy, Chelsea and I just laugh and pretend she’s said something funny. That’s the thing about mean people. If you don’t let them get to you, they usually move on pretty quickly.

  We all walk down to the cabins and look for our names on the lists on the doors, to see which one we are in.

  We are in the ‘Cassowary Cabin’. The three of us get to be together, so we’re really excited. Unfortunately, Portia and Tiffany are in our cabin too.

  The three of us put our cases on the beds in the corner, leaving the other two spare across the room near the door.

  It takes longer for Portia and Tiffany to get down to the cabin because their sandals keep slipping on the damp paths. Mrs Hodby did tell us to wear sneakers.

  When Portia and Tiffany arrive, they are very unhappy about the sleeping arrangements.

  ‘I don’t like sleeping near the door,’ says Portia. ‘Maisy, you need to swap beds with me.’

  Maisy actually starts to move her things.

  ‘Hang on,’ I say. ‘Where do you want to sleep, Maisy?’

  Maisy points to the bed she has already put her gear on.

  ‘Well, I want you to move,’ says Portia in a nasty voice.

  ‘I can’t believe you actually talk to people like that,’ I say, looking her in the eye. Then I turn away and smile at my friends. ‘Leave your stuff there, Maisy. Let’s go and see what there is to do.’

  I unzip my case and slide my vet kit under the end of my bed.

  Portia sees it and points at it laughing. ‘I knew it!’ she sneers. ‘I just knew Juliet the Vet would have to bring her little vet kit. What a joke!’

  Tiffany laughs along nervously.

  Chelsea is about to say something, but I stop her.

  ‘Let’s go and explore,’ I say with a smile.

  Mrs Hodby lets us all have a good look around before lunch. For each meal, a different group of kids has to help in the kitchen. Our turn is breakfast tomorrow. It is going to be fun making breakfast for fifty people … I think!

  We go and visit some other kids from our class and check out their cabins, then we look around the rest of the camping site. I love this place. There are birds everywhere, even large peacocks, and some very cheeky looking kookaburras hanging around the barbeque where Mr Thomson is cooking sausages for lunch.

  There’s a campfire set up for tonight, a high ropes course, a flying fox and a beautiful, clear creek. Paths lead away in all directions into the darkness of the rainforest.

  ‘Is it tonight we go spotlighting for possums and things?’ asks Maisy.

  Chelsea pulls a neatly folded piece of paper from her back pocket. It’s a list of all our activities. ‘No,’ she says, pointing at the form. ‘Today it’s the rainforest waterfall walk and a sing-a-long around the campfire. Tomorrow night is spotlighting and the glow-worm caves.’

  Some kids have already set up a game of soccer. I hear them yelling and look over to see a brush turkey charging at their ball. They all laugh as the turkey attacks the ball.

  Then I see why.

  ‘It’s got a mound!’ I say, and we race towards them. Some of the boys are running at the turkey to stir it up even more. I try to explain and it’s lucky I have my Vet Diary in my pocket. I already have a page on brush turkeys.

  ‘Stop! He’s got a mound with eggs buried in it!’ I pant when we get there. ‘He’ll hurt himself trying to defend it from the ball.’

  The boys stop what they are doing and come over to look at my notes.

  I show them my diagram of a turkey nest. ‘He’s not playing a game,’ I say. ‘He’s trying to stop the female’s eggs from being damaged.’

  Luckily everyone is actually quite interested in my diagram and they listen to what I have to say.

  ‘That is a big nest for one bird!’ says Patrick. ‘I’m glad I’m not a turkey!’

  ‘You kind of are,’ laughs Cameron.

  We inspect the size of the mound and I point out just how far out the nest reaches.

  ‘Do you think you could have your goals over there?’ suggests Chelsea, pointing to a space a bit further away.

  ‘I don’t see why not,’ says Sam. ‘The turkey was probably their best player, anyway.’ They happily switch their game around.

  Suddenly we hear a shriek from the girls’ toilets.

  ‘What now?’ asks Maisy, and we run over to look. There are girls running into the toilet and shower block, screaming, and then running out again.

  Mrs Hodby is also making a beeline for the building. ‘Girls,’ she says, ‘stop the yelling. What’s going on?’

  ‘There are toads in the shower!’

  Chelsea, Maisy and I go in to have a look. There ar
e two very frightened-looking small brown frogs huddled in the corner of one shower cubicle, as well as a large Green Tree Frog high on the wall behind a pipe.

  ‘They’re not toads,’ I say, pointing at the brown frogs. ‘They’re Striped Marsh Frogs. They would have come in here because it’s dark and wet. I can put them outside if you like?’

  ‘Um, I’m not sure,’ says Mrs Hodby. ‘Would you be able to do it without them getting hurt?’

  ‘Of course she can!’ laughs Chelsea. ‘She’s nearly a vet, Mrs Hodby.’

  Mrs Hodby nods, but doesn’t look completely convinced.

  I wet my hands and carefully place my hands over both the frightened frogs. I can feel them jumping around between my fingers, trying to get out, but I hold still for a minute until they relax.

  Then I scoop them up and cup my hands around them. Chelsea and Maisy clear the way for me to come out.

  ‘Yuuuck!’ shrieks Portia. ‘Juliet is holding toads!’

  A few other girls make gasping sounds as I walk around to the back of the shower block. It’s cool and damp there, and there are some nice rocks for the frogs to hide in. I bend down and let them go.

  ‘Well done, Juliet!’ says Mrs Hodby. She seems very glad that the screaming has stopped.

  ‘The Green Tree Frog will stay up there and out of the way, I think,’ I say.

  ‘I agree,’ says Mrs Hodby. ‘We are on a rainforest camp,’ she says loudly to all of the girls gathering around. ‘We are here to experience nature in the rainforest, so I don’t want to hear any more carrying on about a few little frogs in the shower.’

  We scoff our sausages in bread, throw a few little pieces to the chubby kookaburras and then race back to our cabins for hats, sunscreen and water bottles. Mrs Hodby reminds us to wear thick socks inside our sneakers and to tuck our pants into the socks.

  ‘I’m not wearing my pants tucked in,’ says Portia as we get organised. ‘It looks ridiculous! It’s bad enough wearing sneakers. I much prefer sandals.’

  I see that Tiffany already has her pants tucked in, but she quickly pulls them out again.

  I’m ready before everyone else, so I start a quick list in my Vet Diary of the animals we have seen so far.

  We head off on our walk through the rainforest. Mr Thomson is up the front with one of the camp guides, and Mrs Hodby is down the back, making sure no one gets left behind.

  Even though they all tell us to be quiet and walk slowly so that we see more animals, most kids seem to want to charge along the tracks. We sound like a travelling circus.

  My friends and I are much happier walking along with Mrs Hodby. We drop back a little to hear the sounds of the rainforest around us.

  ‘Look at that!’ gasps Chelsea quietly, pointing to her left.

  We all look over and see the most beautiful butterfly bobbing through the trees. Its large blue wings flash brightly whenever they catch the sunlight that’s breaking through the trees. We all stand quietly and watch it for ages. I don’t think I have ever seen such a big butterfly. I try to memorise every part of it, so that I can look it up when I get home.

  ‘Girls,’ says Mrs Hodby. ‘Look, there, through the trees. Can you see it?’

  Chelsea is the first to see what she is pointing at.

  ‘A kangaroo!’ she whispers.

  ‘It’s got a joey!’ breathes Maisy, just loudly enough for us all to hear. ‘It’s so cute.’

  ‘I think it’s a wallaby,’ I whisper.

  ‘How can you tell?’ asks Mrs Hodby, surprised.

  I whip out my diary from my back pocket.

  ‘I have a whole section on kangaroos and wallabies, because we have them in the surgery sometimes,’ I say.

  I show them my table.

  ‘You do know a LOT about animals, Juliet,’ Mrs Hodby smiles.

  We spend all afternoon exploring the rainforest tracks, and end up at a beautiful waterfall. We’re allowed to take our shoes and socks off and sit on the rocks and let our feet soak in the cool, clear water.

  You can easily tell which socks belong to Portia and Tiffany. They have thin pretty socks with flowers and hearts all over them. Mine look like football socks next to theirs!

  Mr Thomson brings around some biscuits and cake for us to eat while we relax and listen to the water falling down from the rocks above.

  As I peer down into the clear water at my feet, I wonder what animals might be quietly staring up at me. I love the feeling of being out in the rainforest. The air smells so clean, and we are surrounded by greens of every shade. Animals are lucky to live here.

  I turn over a small piece of bark on the ground and watch a shiny black beetle scurry for cover. There must be millions and millions of insects here, before you even start to count the other animals.

  This is only the first afternoon of our camp, and we’ve already had a great time.

  As it starts to cool down we head back to camp. We see more wallabies bounding through the undergrowth as we weave our way back.

  We come out on a different path to the one we came in on. The camp guide, Alex, stops us all and points up. There are big, thick ropes pulled tightly between the trees.

  ‘This is the high ropes course,’ he says. ‘Tomorrow your groups will all have a turn at climbing on these ropes to get from tree to tree.’

  Everyone is talking at once. They all seem super excited about it. I’m not so sure. I’m not really into high things.

  ‘I can’t wait!’ says Maisy.

  ‘Me either!’ says Chelsea.

  I’m trying to work out how you get up into the ropes course in the first place, and I have just walked around behind the tree when I see it.

  ‘Oh no!’ I say.

  Chelsea hears me and comes around. ‘What is it?’ she asks.

  ‘It’s a sugar glider,’ I say. ‘I think it’s dead.’

  By now, a small group of kids have gathered around. There on the ground is a beautiful glider. It’s a soft grey colour with a dark stripe running down the centre of its head. Its beautiful dark round eyes are still open, but it isn’t moving at all.

  I crouch down to look at it more closely. Its little body is about the size of a small guinea pig and its tiny pink hands are curled in little fists.

  ‘What could have happened?’ says Chelsea. She sounds like she’s going to cry. I feel like I might too.

  ‘Aggghhh!’ says Portia when she sees what we are gathered around. ‘It’s a dead rat!’

  We all turn around and say ‘Shhhh’ to her at once. I think she gets the message.

  Alex comes around to have a look. ‘Ahh, that is a pity,’ he says, gently lifting the glider for everyone to see. Its bushy tail is the same dark grey as its stripe, but it hangs lifelessly over the edge of his hand.

  ‘There is no real way we could know what has happened to her,’ he says. ‘She probably died last night.’

  All the kids stand and look at her for a long time. I think we all feel very sad to see something so beautiful that’s not alive any more.

  ‘Can we bury her?’ I whisper to Mrs Hodby.

  I know she’s going to be worried about me touching it. ‘I brought some gloves with me,’ I quickly add.

  ‘In her vet kit,’ says Chelsea helpfully.

  ‘That’s funny,’ smiles Mrs Hodby. ‘I don’t remember writing “vet kits” on the list of things to bring.’

  She ruffles my hair and says it is okay with her as long as it is okay with Alex. He nods, and we all walk back towards the cabins.

  I race in, grab my kit and open it on the bed. I have a few pairs of disposable gloves from Mum’s surgery, so I put a pair on. I’m just about to head back out when Portia comes in.

  ‘Our cabin’s not on washing-up duty until tomorrow morning,’ she says.

  ‘We’re going to bury the glider.’

  ‘Oh, that’s right,’ she sneers. ‘Mrs Hodby chose you, because you’re nearly a vet.’

  I ignore her and rush back to the others. We walk down to a lo
vely spot by the creek. I hold the sugar glider gently while I wait for Chelsea and Maisy to dig a hole with some small shovels. I can’t help but study her.

  I look at her perfect little feet, her tiny pink nose and cupped ears. Sugar gliders are the softest animals I have ever touched. We had to raise some after a bushfire once, and I can’t think of a single person who didn’t think they were adorable. Even my dad liked them, and he’s really not into animals that much – even though he is married to a vet!

  I gently roll her onto her back and feel the soft folds of skin that join her front legs to her back legs. These are what she would have used to glide from tree to tree.

  Suddenly, I see something that makes me catch my breath. I know straight away that we have a problem.

  ‘I think she had a baby,’ I say to the others. They stop digging and come and look. ‘See, her teats and pouch are really stretched.’

  I ask Chelsea to grab my Vet Diary out of my back pocket and turn to the pages on sugar gliders I wrote when we looked after them after the fire.

  We look closely at my notes.

  ‘The babies leave their mother’s pouch when they are about 60 days old,’ Maisy reads out loud. ‘But they stay with them until they are seven to ten months old.’

  We inspect the glider again. ‘I think her baby would have still been with her if her pouch is still this stretched,’ I say. ‘We need to go back and have another look.’

  We finish burying the mother and put some flowers on top of her little grave, and then we run back to the tree where she was found. We spend ages looking up, down and around the tree, but with no luck at all.

  It’s starting to get dark and Mr Thomson calls everyone over to start having their showers.

  ‘I hope I’m wrong, and that she didn’t have a baby with her,’ I say, as we head back to our cabin. ‘It won’t be able to survive out there on its own.’

  We have only been on camp for half a day, and already my shoes are filthy and my clothes have dirty marks all over them. The contents of my suitcase are all over my bed, with my kit in the middle of it.