The sunbird mystery Chapter1 Steven’s accident Steven (to think) __________bird-watching (to be) _____ a waste of time. His Older sister, Laura, (to love)_________ birds. She (to be) ______ a student at the university and she (to know) ________ a lot about them. “Some of the world’s most beautiful birds (to be) _____ in danger”, she (to tell) _______ Steven. “People (to kill) _______ them and (to take ) ________ their eggs or (to destroy) ___________ the places where they (to live) _________. I (to want) _________ to protect these birds. That (to be) ______ why I (to learn) _____________ about them at the university”. One day Laura (to take) __________Steven bird-watching with her. He (not to want) ___________ to go, but he (to have) _________ nothing to do. After that first day he (to want) __________ to go again. Laura (to show) __________ him how to keep a bird diary. She (to give) ________ him a list of birds to look for. “Each day you (to write) ____________down the names of the birds you see”, she (to explain) ___________. Steven soon (to become) ___________ very interested. He (to write) __________ and (to draw) ___________ in his bird diary. Laura (to show) ________ him pictures of the birds in her big bird book. One day he (to be) ______very lucky and he (to see) ________ a beautiful kingfisher by the river. He (to watch) _________ it for a long time. “I must (to tell) _______Laura about this”, he (to think) __________. It (to get) ____________ dark when he went back to the town. He (to walk) ___________past the university, when he remembered Laura. “Perhaps she (to be) ______ here”, he (to think) ___________. “I (to look) __________ in the library.” Steven (to run) _______round the
corner to the library. He (not to see) _________ the old man walking towards him with his arms full of books. There (to be) ______ no time to stop. Steven (to crash) __________ into him. “I’m sorry”, (to say) ________Steven. The old man (to be) ________ on his knees collecting his papers. His books and Steven’s bird-watching things (to be) ______over the path. “it (to be) _____ all right but he (to look) _______worried . Steven (to pick) _________ up the books. He (to notice) ________ the titles: “Birds of East Africa” and “Rare African birds”. He (to reach) ________ to a blue notebook. But before he (can) ________ see it properly, the old man (to take) ________it from his hands. “Excuse me, “, he (to say)___________ and (to turn)_____________ to look over his shoulder. Steven (to look) _______________ too. He (to think)____________ he (to see )_____________ someone in the shadows. “I (to be) ______ in a hurry”, (to say) ______________ the old man. Before Steven (can)_____________ answer, he (to leave)_________________. Steven quickly (to put)__________up his books and pencils back in his bag and ( to hurry) _____________on. Laura (to be) __________ in the library, so Steven (to go) ___________ home alone. When he (to get) ______ in, he (to look) ____________ for his notebook in his bag. Steven’s notes (to be)________ in a book with a blue cover. The notebook he (to hold)________ now (to be) ________ nearly the same, but it (to be) ________ not his. The cover (to be)___________ old. Inside the handwriting (to be) ______ small and neat. There (to be) ___________ maps and diagrams. In the middle of the book there (to be) ________ a wonderful drawing of a bird. “It (to be) _______ the most beautiful bird I’ve ever seen”, (to think) _____________ Steven. Underneath the picture, in large letters, there (to be) __________ the word: “Sunbird”. Then there (to be) _________lots of notes. Steven (to read) _________ these and (to look)__________ at the little maps and diagrams. On the last page of the book Steven (to
read) __________”Dr James Clarke, 43, Cairndale Avenue, Easton, England.” Steven (to show) ___________the book to Laura. “James Clarke!” She (to remark) ____________.”I (to go) ________ to his lectures at the university. He (to be) ______ a famous ornithologist. He (to write) __________lots of books about birds. I’d love (to help) __________ him with his work one day.” “(to listen) __________ to this, Laura”, (to ask) __________ Steven and he (to turn) ____________to the pages about the sunbird. He (to read) _________”No one ever (to photograph) the sunbird. _______________________________________The people of Nyeri (to say) ___________ it (to exist) _____________. No scientist (to see) ______________ for the last forty years. Where (to be) _________Nyeri, Laura?” “It (to be) _______ a place in Kenya, I (to think) __________.And you (to know) ____________________________where Kenya (to be) __________?” Laura (to ask) ____________. “Yes, it (to be) ______ in East Africa”. Steven (to answer) __________ quickly and he (to begin) _________ to read again. “there (to be) ________ many stories about the sunbird. For example, when you (to find) __________ a sunbird feather, (to keep) ___________ it safe – it (to bring) ____________ you good luck. You (to have) __________luck when a sunbird (to fly) ___________over the roof of your house – you (to become) ____________ rich. Never (to kill) _________ a sunbird because no food (to grow) ______________ on your land for seven years.” Steven (to put) __________the book down. “What you (to think) ____________________about that?” He (to wonder) _______________. “I’d love (to go) _________ to Africa and (to look) _________ for the sunbird”, (to notice) _________Laura, “but we need a sunbird feather (to make) __________ the wish (to come) ___________true. You should (to take) _________this book back to Dr Clarke now – before he (to throw) ___________your book in the rubbish!”