Table of Contents:

Dedication Page

Narrative: pages 3 - 25

Non-fiction: pages 26 - 41

Poetry: pages 42 - 48

References: Page 49

The Florida Everglades

Narrative

Chapter One

Sun took its last bow to the peaceful life on the land of Everglades. Everything seemed to be just the same as yesterday, birds flying overhead; frogs singing with rhythm; and Joey waking up from his daily nap. “Uh, another beautiful day! ” he said with a contented smile and started to sing along with his frog folks,

”Birds flying high, ba-bam-bam, ba-bam-bam,

you know how I feel, ba-bam-bam, ba-bam-bam;

sun saying goodbye, ba-bam-bam, ba-bam-bam,

you know how I feel, ba-bam-bam, ba-bam-bam;

Reeds driftin’ on by, ba-bam-bam, ba-bam-bam;

you know how I feel, ba-bam-bam, ba-bam-bam.

It is new dusk; it is a new day; it is a new life;

And I’m feeling good, ba-la-la-la.”

第一章

午后的阳光向大湿地平静祥和的一天献上了谢幕礼。一切都似昨日一般，寻不到一丝变化的足迹。鸟儿从头顶掠过，蛙鸣声声，也颇有韵律。那乔伊呢？他呀，刚刚从午觉中苏醒。“啊，又是美好的一天！”他十分知足地说道，一抹微笑写在脸上。他忍不住跟着他的蛙友们一起歌唱：

“高飞的鸟儿，吧邦邦，吧邦邦；

你知我心，吧邦邦，吧邦邦；

挥别的太阳，吧邦邦，吧邦邦；

你明我意，吧邦邦，吧邦邦；

飘荡的芦苇，吧邦邦，吧邦邦；

你解我情，吧邦邦，吧邦邦；

拥抱新的黄昏，迎接新的一天，重获新生；

不亦快哉！吧啦啦啦。”

”

Chapter 2

Oh, wait. Who is Joey? Good question! He is a baby alligator who loves singing and adventuring even though he is usually too lazy to move and spends most of his day time suntanning. That is why animals of the everglades called him “Ear-Adventurer”. He never stepped outside everglades, but whenever the birds came by and brought back some stories of places far away, he was all ears. There were several times Joey secretly wished for a chance to see the world outside and meet animals who lived elsewhere, especially those who stayed with people. And in that afternoon, Joey’s wish finally came true as there was an appearance of an unexpected visitor.

Hey, there！I'm Joey.

第二章

咦，等一下！谁是乔伊？问得好呀，问得妙。乔伊是一只爱唱歌爱冒险的小鳄鱼。虽然他因为太懒，很少动弹，大部分功夫都花在了睡觉晒太阳上，所以从未走出过大湿地。难怪大湿地的动物们都叫他“顺风耳冒险家”。每当有鸟儿飞过，他总要缠着他们给自己讲讲外面的世界，这样他便可以足不出户，却“耳行千里”啦。即便是这样，乔伊还是悄悄地盼着哪天自己可以走出去瞧瞧，遇到哪些和自己过着不同生活的动物们，尤其是传说中那些个和人类打过交道的动物。说来也巧，就在这个看似寻常的下午，乔伊的愿望将因为一位不速之客的出现而实现。

我有强烈预感，有大事发生！哈哈哈！

Chapter 3

In the distance, Joey saw a giant slithering creature. He was not sure exactly what it was. He did not have any legs, nor did he have arms! How is he moving around? He is fast and slimy. He moves in and out of the bushes and the trees without effort. At times the creature would blend into the grass and parts of him would be invisible. But then he’d slither again and he would appear.Joey had never seen anything like this creature before. He thought he should approach him but worried of what would happen once he did. Joey had never encountered an animal this large and intimidating. But, perhaps he is more kind and welcoming than he appears.

Hank, a White Heron, flew down and landed right beside him.

“Who is the new guy?” he said.

“I don’t know,” Joey said without taking his eyes off of this curious creature.

第三章

乔伊远远地瞅见了一滑溜溜的不明物体。细细看来，这玩意儿竟然没手没脚，却仍然蠕动着庞大的身躯。天哪，太神奇了！他既滑溜儿又敏捷，不费吹灰之力就能在草丛树木中来回穿梭。当穿入草丛中时，他的身体开始若隐若现。

乔伊对这个从未见过的物种深感好奇，想要靠近，却又怕会招来什么祸患。毕竟他那么大，怪吓人的。但也许他并没有看上去那么可怕，说不定还很好相处呢。

白鹭汉克此时飞过，落在了乔伊身边。

“这是谁呀？”他说道。

“我也不知道耶。”乔伊边目不转睛得盯着他便回答道。

Chapter 4

Hank was a good friend, him and Joey would often have conversations with Joey in the water and Hank in a tree. It was beautiful how Hank glided through the air and effortlessly landed with grace. His white feathers would blow from the wind and his legs would help him to stand tall. At times, Joey was jealous of his ability to fly anywhere. He had an orange beak and a long neck. He had many friends and was very funny. Most of his White Heron friends would not come anywhere near Joey, they were probably afraid of his big teeth and strong tail. But, Hank never seemed afraid, he was a good friend.

第四章

汉克和乔伊是一对好朋友，他们常常一个在树上一个在水里地谈天说地。汉克掠过天空并轻盈落地的身姿真叫人羡慕。他那洁白的羽翼在风中嗖嗖作响，修长的双腿则帮他优雅的着地，加上橙色的喙和纤细的脖子，绝了！多少次乔伊都对他能飞来飞去感到羡慕不已。汉克幽默风趣，朋友成群。但是他的白鹭朋友们都不敢靠近乔伊，因为他是只牙尖嘴利的鳄鱼。但在汉克心中，友情面前，恐惧就显得微不足道了。

Chapter 5

“Who does he think he is coming on to our turf and slithering around?” Hank demanded.

“Maybe he’s lost,” Joey thinks aloud.

“He looks like a snake, but he is much larger than any snake I have ever seen” said Hank.

“Maybe we should say “hello” and welcome him?” asked Joey a little nervous.

Hank yelled, “No way! He is not welcome! We need to get rid of him!”

So the two animals sat there and thought of a way to get rid of this intruder that they have never seen. Joey worried about judging him without even knowing him. But a part of him knew that Hank was right and this new visitor should not be trusted. But what if this creature is dangerous? What if he gets mad and hurts one of them?

第五章

哎呀，也许人家只是迷路了呢。

敢到我们的地盘上撒野，他以为他谁呀！

他看着挺像蛇的，但又比蛇大许多。

或许我们应该和他打个招呼？

才不要呢！我不欢迎他！我们最好离他远远的！

于是，这对好友就静静地坐在那儿，想法子摆脱这个素未平生的不速之客，乔伊很纠结，一面担心自己以貌取人，错怪了他，一面又觉得汉克那套生人勿近的说法很有道理。万一这个家伙是个危险人物，他发起疯来伤害了自己和汉克，怎么办？

Chapter 6



Joey decided that maybe it was best to try to ignore this strange creature, since Hank was so against introducing themselves to it. But that night, Joey laid wide awake in curiosity. He just had to know what that peculiar animal that he saw was.

After a couple hours of tossing and turning in curiosity, Joey sprung up from his bed on the riverbank and was on a solo mission! He crawled for what seem liked miles before he saw the glowing eyes of an animal in a bush ahead. Alarmed and uptight, Joey tried his best to be quiet so that he could reveal the identity of this creature before it did the same to him.

第六章

乔伊觉得也许汉坚持不理那家伙是上上计，于是也不再去理会他。然而，这一夜，乔伊因为好奇而辗转反侧，他还是特别想弄明白那家伙究竟是个什么物种。

于是他坐不住了，决定独自一人前往，一探究竟！他匍匐了好几里才突然发现一双隐藏在灌木丛里闪着寒光的眼睛。乔伊又紧张又机警地大量着这家伙，试图在他发现自己以前认清他的真面目。

Chapter 7

Finally, before Joey was close enough to see what was in the bushes, the creature revealed itself to him. A huge Florida Panther came strutting out of the bushes.

“Why are you stalking me?!” asked the Panther.

“I’m sorry” said Joey, “You aren’t who I was looking for, I thought you were someone else”. “If you don’t mind me asking, who are you looking for?” asked the Panther.

“Well, my friend Hank the Heron and I saw a snake-like animal earlier today, but it was not an average snake. Whatever it was, it was huge, almost monster-like!” exclaimed Joey.

“Oh dear” said the Panther, “Don’t tell me you saw a python”.

“It was extremely long, thick and scaly! It was covered in large brown spots.” said Joey.

The Florida Panther bowed his head in fear and sadness. He knew that pythons do not belong in the Everglades. In fact, they have devastating consequences on the ecosystem and natural order of the Everglades.

“But how did it get here?” asked Joey.

“You see, humans decide to get these creatures as pets, and pythons grow and grow so big that their owners don’t know what to do with them. So, they release them into the wild, and sometimes the pythons even get out on their own. In return, the pythons upset our home’s ecosystem. They eat and compete with animals that they shouldn’t, and unfortunately, this threatens the endangered plants and animals of our beautiful habitat.” said the Panther.

Joey’s whole body sunk at the thought of his home as he knew it being destroyed. After he and the Florida Panther said goodnight and parted ways, Joey sadly and quietly wandered back to his bed on the riverbank. He had never felt so helpless in his whole life.

第七章

终于，在乔伊凑近看清了眼前的这个动物前，这个家伙就自己现身了。原来是一只佛罗里达大黑豹正在昂首阔步地走出灌木丛。

“你干什么跟踪我？！”黑豹问道。

“呀，对不起，”乔伊说，“我认错了，我以为你是我要找的那个家伙。”

“哦，这样呀。那请问你在找谁呀？”黑豹问。

“嗯，是这样的。我和我的白鹭朋友汉克今天看见了一只像蛇一样的动物，但它绝对不是一般的蛇。但不管它是什么，它都有着怪物一般庞大的身躯！”乔伊提高了嗓门。

“我的妈呀......”黑豹说，“别告诉我你们看到的是巨蟒......”

"它长得出奇，胖胖的，还有鳞片！哦，对了！它浑身都是棕色的大斑纹！"乔伊说。

黑豹在恐惧和悲伤中低下了脑袋。他知道巨蟒并不属于佛罗里达大湿地。而他们在这一片的出现严重破坏了大湿地的生态平衡。

“奇怪，巨蟒怎么会跑到我们这儿来呢？”乔伊问道。

“唉，还不是人类拿巨蟒当宠物，结果巨蟒越长越大，屋子待不下了。巨蟒的主人不知道怎么是好，于是就把它们放生了。但也有的巨蟒长太大了就自己溜了出来。正因如此，巨蟒抢了别的动物的食物，与和谐共处的动物们为敌，扰乱了咱们美丽家园的生态平衡。”黑豹说道。

乔伊完全陷入了沉思，想到自己熟悉的家园被破坏，心里很不是滋味。在乔伊与黑豹道别以后，他忧愁地在河岸上走着，他从未感到如此无助。

Chapter 8

As Joey approached his bed, fear stroke through his entire body when he realized someone was already in it. His mind went to the darkest place possible, and his worst fears came true when he saw the python laying in his bed. Joey tried to sneak away as quietly as possible, but he was unable to avoid waking up the python.

“You woke me up! Who do you think you are, coming over here to my sleeping area and waking me up?” hissed the python. “This is my bed!” exclaimed Joey. “I sleep here every night, and that’s my bed! Who do you think YOU are?”

“My name is Toby, and tonight is my first night here. Where are we, anyways?” Joey was confused by the python Toby. He wasn’t trying to hurt him, and he seemed confused. “We are in the Everglades”, said Joey, “This is my home”. Toby looked sad for a moment and then replied, “I used to have a home, but I got kicked out of it today.

I was so mad and confused, I was slivering around angry and hissing at everybody. I want to go back home, but I can’t. I don’t think I like being outside.”

Joey felt relieved that Toby wasn’t going to hurt him. They said goodnight to each other, and Joey decided to sleep somewhere different for just one night. Toby did just lose his home, after all. Even though he didn’t think Toby would hurt him, Joey slept with one eye open just in case...

第八章

正当乔伊快要走回家的时候，他发现有人已经鸠占鹊巢了，一丝寒意油然而生。他脑海里浮现了最恐怖的画面：一条巨蟒正躺在他的床上。更可怕的是，他的噩梦成真了。惊慌中，乔伊仍然强装镇定，试图不吵醒沉睡的巨蟒，但失败了。

“你把我吵醒了！你算老几呀，在我睡觉的地方撒野！”巨蟒斯斯地说。

“什么你睡觉的地方！这是我的床！”乔伊爆发了，“我每晚都在这儿睡觉，我还没问你是从哪里冒出来的呢！”

“呃......我叫托比，今晚第一次夜宿在这里......唉？这是哪儿来着？”巨蟒的语气突变。

看到巨蟒托比并无伤害自己的意思，乔伊竟然有些没有反应过来。“我们在佛罗里达大湿地，”乔伊说道，“这是我的家”。一听到“家”，托比瞬间陷入悲伤：“家，我曾经也有个家。但我今天被赶出来了。气愤和惶恐之余，我才会对所有人都发脾气。我想回家，却回不去了。我一点儿也不喜欢在外面游荡。”

感到安全的乔伊送了一口气。他很同情托比的遭遇，所以决定今晚把床让给托比，自己到别处睡去。但是他仍然睡觉时睁一只眼闭一只眼，以防万一。

Chapter 9

The next morning, Joey sprung from his sleep to the sound of an airboat nearby. Three human men and one woman came speeding up on the loud boat, looking like they were on a mission.

“Do you know what’s happening?!” Joey asked Hank.

“It looks to me like they are trying to capture something!” exclaimed Hank.

Several minutes later, Joey could see the group of people pick up a long, thick, scaly and brown spotted creature and place it in the boat. They were removing Toby from the Everglades.

Joey smiled to himself and thought about how relieved the Florida Panther would be to have seen this. While he knew that there were probably other mean pythons roaming around his home, he was happy to know that Toby could go back to living somewhere inside again. Joey was also ecstatic that he and his friends were safe again.

Joey knew that more animals who were supposed to be pets, like the python, would enter the Everglades again. Even though the thought scared him a bit, he was thankful that there were humans who worked hard to preserve his home. Until that happened, Joey would keep on playing with his friends and enjoying life in his home.

第九章

第二天早上，乔伊被不远处的汽船声吵醒。眼见三男三女从船上跑下来，那动作迅速得仿佛在执行什么任务一般。

“怎么了这是？”乔伊问汉克道。

“依我看来，他们应该是在抓什么东西！”汉克高呼。

几分钟后，乔伊看到一群人抬着一条又大又长，浑身覆盖着鳞片和棕斑的生物上了船。他们是来把托比从大湿地接走的。

乔伊想到若是大黑豹看到这一幕一定会谢天谢地，他就不禁笑出声。他打心里为托比不用在流浪而高兴。但他也知道，不是所有无家可归的巨蟒都像托比一样友好。但至少，他和他的朋友们可以过上一段时间安稳日子了，不是吗？

乔伊知道还有很多像巨蟒一样被人类当作宠物的动物会来到大湿地。即使一想到这里，他便不寒而栗，但他依旧对人类为保护他的家园而作出的努力表示感激。在更多的“客人”到来之前，乔伊可以和朋友们开开心心地生活在一起了。

The Florida Everglades

Non-fiction

Everglades Fun Facts

• The Everglades has the largest continuous stand of sawgrass prairie in North America.
• The Everglades is the home of thirteen endangered and ten threatened species. 1310
• The Everglades is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist.
• Fire is common and important for the survival of the Everglades.
• The Everglades provides drinking water for over 7 million Floridians. 7
• The Everglades is more than 1.5 million acres in size.
• The Everglades is nicknamed “The River of Grass”. “”
• There are only two seasons in the Everglades, dry season (Winter) and wet season (Summer).

History: The Everglades National Park was founded in 1947. In the early 1900s, water all the way from the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, and south of these bodies such as the Biscayne Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands flowed freely. They created a mosaic of ponds, marshes, forested uplands, and hardwoods. It existed like this for thousands of years, and eventually evolved into its own ecosystem. However, early colonial settlers wanted to use this land for themselves. The transition of wetland to land was extremely detrimental to the ecosystem in place. With much support, people like scientists, conservationists, and advocates worked together to establish the Everglades as a national park and preserve the natural landscape of the park. This would also prevent further deterioration of it’s lands, as well as the plants and animals who lived there. To this day, The Everglades is one of the most loved parks in the state of Florida.

Pythons And How They Are Hurting The Everglades

Although they are not native to Florida, since 2002, over 2,000 pythons have been removed from the Everglades. The cause of this stems from the accidental and intentional release of python pet owners. Unfortunately, the effects of this has caused devastating consequences to the Everglades ecosystem. Pythons have been known to feed on native mammals, birds, and even alligators, which upsets the natural order of the food chain. The only two predators of these pythons are humans and alligators. This causes the pythons to overpopulate in an area where they are not even native to begin with.