The Green Sea

Polly came in from the east just after dawn. Below her was a world of leaves. There were no fields and no roads. There was only a green canopy that rolled to every horizon, like a calm, endless sea. The sun lit her red head and bright green body, and her round black-rim glasses misted in the warm air. This was the Amazon, the largest rainforest on Earth.

A rainforest is built in layers. The top layer is the canopy, the green roof you see from above. Most of the forest lives here. Sunlight arrives here first, so flowers open and fruit grows. Most animals feed and sleep up here and never touch the ground.

One great brown river ran through the green. It was so wide that Polly had to fly higher to see both banks. The Amazon River carries more water than any other river in the world. From the air it moved slowly, heavy with pale mud.

As the day cooled, the forest began to breathe. A soft mist rose from the canopy and became clouds. The forest makes its own rain. Much of the water that falls here comes from the trees themselves. Polly sat on a high branch and watched the grey rain cross the green.