Carl woke up after the crazy ride in the storm. He was still dizzy. He looked at Russell who was lying on the living room floor beside him, he was still unconscious. Carl closed his eyes and lay beside him, resting. As his senses began to function normally again, he heard the sound of water. However, it wasn’t just a little creek, it was the sound of large amounts of water tumbling down from a great height and making gigantic splashes when it got to the bottom. Carl got to his feet spontaneously and ran to the window. He saw the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

There was a very steep cliff just 100m away from here. Like what Carl had heard, the water was coming down from the high cliff. The most amazing thing was the colour of the falls. From the left part of the falls to the right, the colour gradually changes from yellow, orange, red, pink to purple. This was what Carl had been looking for his entire life: Paradise Falls. Carl was so amazed by this beautiful scene that he stared at it for one whole minute. Then, he went back to wake Russell up.

 “Wake up, Russell! We’re at Paradise Falls!” Carl called as he tugged on Russell’s shirt. He went to the window with Carl. When he saw the falls, his sleepy eyes turned into two big round glass balls.

“This is so beautiful!” Russell exclaimed. “Let’s go outside and see, Mr. Frederickson!” So they went outside and took a walk to the wondrous falls.

        When they got to the falls, they saw little ducks floating on the water.

“Are these rainbow snipes, Mr. Frederickson?” Russell asked curiously as he marveled at the colourful feathers then ducks had. Their wings and body were pink and purple. Their necks and heads were the colour of creamy cheese. Their red little webbed-feet occasionally appeared when they dived down to catch fish.

“I don’t think they’re snipes, Russell. They are just ducks with colourful feathers” But Russell didn’t hear that. He had already hopped to the river below the falls and towards the rainbow snipes.

He clapped his hands three times and called, “Hey! Snipey, snipey snipey!” he clapped his hands again and called to the snipes. Then, the snipes slowly swam towards Russell. They got on shore and began to gather around Russell, who was still calling to the snipes. The colourful snipes seemed to like Russell a lot. Carl sat sown on the green grass and watched Russell play with the rainbow snipes.

Carl looked around, they were surrounded by tall, green trees. A few birds were singing in the trees. There was light blue with only a few patches of white. This place really was like a paradise. Carl thought this would be the perfect place to spend the rest of his life. He was planning on staying here. Continuation is a good thing

Carl and Russell stayed at paradise Falls for a few days. They found some fruits and vegetables in the forest nearby and Russell hunted using the hunting skills he’d learned at scouts. Russell loved playing with the friendly rainbow snipes. He showed them all the badges he’d earned and how he had earned them. Carl enjoyed walking in the woods or sitting by the magnificent falls, listening and marveling and thinking it is too beautiful to be true. Mr. Frederickson had no plans on going back to North America. However, Russell was beginning to think it was a bit boring, and he was also homesick.

“Mr. Frederickson, when are we going back?” Russell asked one day when he didn’t feel like playing with the snipes.

“Oh. We’re not going back don’t you think this place is perfect? Ellie and I like Paradise Falls a lot. It was our dream to be here,” Mr. Frederickson answered happily.

“But what about me? I want to go back home!” Russell whined.

“No!” Carl answered angrily.

“But I want to go back! You are just selfish!” Russell cried and he ran out the door. Carl just sighed and sat on his sofa in the living room.

This continued for three days. Russell always complained to Carl about going back to North America. But Carl wouldn’t go back, he thought this was the perfect place for him and Ellie to be.

One day, when Carl went outside for a walk, he saw Russell kneeling by the river, talking to the rainbow snipes whose feathers were shining in the sunlight. “Hey, rainbow snipes. Do you know why I’m so sad? It’s because Mr. Frederickson won’t take me back to the USA. I know this is a wonderful place and I like you snipeys very much, but I miss my mommy and daddy,” Russell said and started to cry. “They’ve got to be wondering where I am! I want to go back home!” he shouted again. The snipes seemed to understand his sadness and made low, sad noises, too.

Carl was watching silently from the back. He whispered to himself, “Russell has a point. I can’t just leave him here. He still has a family and future. But I’m afraid if I go back, I won’t ever find this place again!”

At first, Carl couldn’t decide whether he should stay or not. However, when he saw the poor little Russell crying by the river, he made up his mind. “Maybe I was just being selfish,” he said to himself. Carl looked at the elegant falls one last time and went inside his house to prepare for departure.

When Russell came into the house with red puffed eyes, Carl had already put hundreds of balloons up the chimney.

“What are you doing, Mr. Frederickson?” Russell watched Carl as he went to check if the wings were broken when they first landed. Carl turned around and faced Russell, he said, “Russell, I owe you an apology. I guess I was being a little…selfish. I didn’t think of you before, but I thought it over,” he smiled. “We’re going back to the USA!”

Russell’s face brightened. He ran across the room and hugged Carl. “Thank you Mr. Frederickson!” Russell said, grateful. Carl untied the strong ropes which were keeping the house on the ground. Then he went to the front of the room to steer the house. Russell went to one of the windows on the side and looked out. Both Carl and Russell stared at Paradise Falls as they left the ground. Mr. Frederickson said, “We’re going home!”