The boat cruised along slowly for half an hour. They glided through the brown water and saw birds and insects everywhere. A golden yellow butterfly flitted across the water. It was a paradise.
Suddenly they heard the 'phut, phut' noise again. The engine stopped.
"Oh no," said Nella, "we've stopped again."
"Let me try and start it," said Jed.
They both tried again and again - but it was no use
"We're lost!" said Nella. "This river isn't even on the map!"
"What shall we do?"
They sat in the boat for a while. They tried shouting for help but they knew it was useless. No-one lived out here in the forest. The hours passed. They began to feel frightened.
"Well, we can't stay here all night," said Nella. "We must try and get through the forest."
"You're mad!" said Jed.
"Well, what else are we going to do, smarty pants?" she said to her brother.
They jumped out of the boat into the muddy brown water. Luckily it wasn't very deep and only came up to their knees. They waded through the water towards the banks. They climbed up the roots of a mangrove tree on to the land. And suddenly - there they were alone - slap bang in the middle of a rainforest!
But of course they were not alone. There are thousands of creatures and plants living in the forest. Some live in the canopy at the top and others live in the darker places underneath.
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