The Sloth and His Friends

By Michael Zanetti

Discover the magic of the Amazon rainforest in this funny, unique, and heartwarming tale. Rainforest life is disturbed when a logging company begins clear-cutting trees and burning brush. What will Sal the sloth and his friends do? How will they survive? Will nature-loving humans come to their aid? This story calls attention to real environmental issues facing the world today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Feb 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665731713

Michael Zanetti

Michael Zanetti grew up in Connecticut. His two passions are creative writing and music. He taught piano for many years and studied literature at Fairfield University. Zanetti loves animals and nature, and his stories reflect that.

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Copyright © 2023 Michael Zanetti.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Book cover illustration by Marieke Nelissen.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3173-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3172-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3171-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022919098

Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/11/2024

Contents

Introduction

To-Do List

A Slothful Reputation

Invitation

Big Dreams

Strange Creatures

Discovery

New Hope

Unwanted Guest

Slowpoke

Number Two

Slow Self-Esteem

Canopy Company

Strange Noises

A Nightmare Come True

Face to Face with the Enemy

Surprise Guests

Friends or Enemies

Wake-up Call

Bullies

Venom

You… Again?

I Witness

Good News and Bad News

Emergency Measures

Fire Alarms

Little Voices

Inferno!

The End?

Hope Renewed

Still Alive

Surprise!

Slothhood

Introduction

Welcome to the rainforest – the Amazon rainforest! It’s a marvelous place filled with thousands of unique plants and animals. In fact, scientists say that it holds up to 10% of all known species on earth.

The Amazon is a great place to live – if you don’t mind the rain. (What do you expect? It’s a rain-forest!) All that fresh water helps everything to grow. Normally, it rains about two hundred days of the year. (Better pack an umbrella.)

Like other tropical places, the Amazon is often hot and humid. For some humans, it can feel a bit uncomfortable. (Kind of like being in a giant steam bath.)

A wonderful variety of plants live in the Amazon rainforest. Books could be written about the trees alone. There are palm trees, fig trees, rubber trees, banana trees, and more. The trees form a natural rooftop for the whole forest. They also create what’s called the canopy.

What is the canopy? It’s basically a nice home for plants and animals above-ground. It’s like a high-rise apartment building (without the rent).

Many amazing animals live in the Amazon: jaguars, anacondas, golden lion tamarinds, harpy eagles, capybaras, tarantulas – just to name a few. But this story isn’t about any of them… Sorry.

This story is about a sloth. A what? A sloth. That’s right. And not just any sloth – a brown-throated, three-toed sloth.

Why in the world would anyone want to read a story about a sloth? Because sloths are awesome. Yes, they are slow. Very slow. And they sleep a lot. An awful lot. But they are gentle, thoughtful, and beautiful creatures.

Most sloths are about as big as house cats. They have thick brown (or slightly green) fur, short snouts, big eyes, long legs, and small ears. Their curved claws are great for hanging onto branches.

Sloths love to hang out – upside down – in trees! In fact, they spend most of their lives doing just that. They eat leaves – lots and lots of leaves. And not much else.

Since sloths don’t have much energy, everything requires serious time and effort. Eating is a challenge. Climbing a tree is an Olympic event.

Unlike a lot of animals, sloths don’t move well on the ground. They can barely walk. But in the water, they are good swimmers. That’s why they like to live near rivers and lakes.

Sloths are not aggressive creatures, but they’re not defenseless, either. They have pretty sharp claws. They just move them very slowly.

One more thing about sloths: they have extra bones in their necks, which allow them to turn their heads up to 270 degrees. That means they never have to move their bodies to see what’s behind them. And if they’re hanging from a tree branch, they can see what’s happening below them.

Alright, that’s enough fun stuff about sloths. This isn’t a science book. It’s a story. And this one is about a sloth named Sal.

To-Do List

Good morning, sleepyhead, said Toco the toucan.

Zzzz…

I said ‘Good morning, sleepyhead!’

Zzzz…

Wake up!

Huh? Sal awoke with a start (a very slow one). He was in his usual position, hanging upside down in the tree with his claws curled around the branch above him. What time is it?

Almost lunchtime.

Oh no… I must have slept through breakfast… again.

Don’t worry about it. You can have a big lunch. Toco stretched his black wings. So, what’s hangin’? I mean, besides you?

Let’s see… Sal spoke slowly – as always – with time to pause and reflect. Before I dozed off, I was working on my To-Do List.

Oh, really? Got any big plans for today?

Um… Let me look at the list here. He slowly turned his head so he could see the branch where he had scratched a few things down. Alright… First on the list… Wake up… Okay… I did that… So I guess I can check that off.

Nice. Toco smiled. What’s number two?

Let… me… see. He studied the primitive scratchings. It’s kinda hard to read my writing… Um… Number two on the list is… eat.

I like that.

The sloth smiled. Yeah… Me, too.

What’s number three?

Let me see… Number three… Oh, yeah… That’s a big one… Climb tree.

Very nice. What’s next on the list?

Sal shrugged (very slowly). That’s it… for now.

Toco nodded his big, orange beak. Well, it looks like you’ve got a good start on that list. You’re already halfway up the tree, so…

The sloth sighed. Yeah… But I was hoping to make more progress… today.

I see. The high-flying bird tried to put it gently. Well, you can’t expect to get much done when you sleep all day.

Sal got his back up (slowly, of course). That’s… not… true.

What? What’s not true?

"I do not… sleep all day."

"Okay. Most of the day."

"No… I do not even sleep most of the day… I sleep part of the day… Just like every other creature in this forest."

Hm. I didn’t know that. Toco