Color, Color, Color, Charlie Chameleon

Dear Reader,

Larry the Letter Carrier flew into Madagascar the other day and I began telling him about my emotional week, and he was like, whoa mate – put it in a letter so I can share with my online friends.

Let me begin by introducing myself, I am Charlie Chameleon, I am a Panther chameleon and I live on the northeastern side of Madagascar. Please don’t think I am related to a panther; I am a reptile! But I do get my name from the panther since I have black stripes and spots on me. Now, let’s talk about my emotional week.

Sunday was a calm and quiet day. I spent most of the day sleeping. I laid nicely balanced on a limb in a canopy of trees. Since I felt so calm and relaxed, I looked much like the brown and green of the trees around me.

Chameleons can change colors for different reasons. Such as hiding, so I can sleep without someone seeing me! I change colors based on my feelings and to help me with my body temperature.

Monday to warm up a little, I found a high limb with fewer leaves so I could catch some sun. I was laying there looking all around, chameleons have special eyesight that lets them see in all directions at the same time! I thought I saw a caterpillar that would make a yummy little snack. Out went my tongue to catch the caterpillar but instead I got fur and heard hoo hoo hoo and a screech. Oh no! I was scared, I turned dark orange and darted through the canopy of trees.

Using my tail, I was able to swing from branch to branch and quickly got away from the scary sound.

Tuesday, I sat on a limb feeling angry. My scaly skin was dark red. I was mad. I thought about yesterday and being wrong about what I saw. Chameleons have excellent eyesight. We don’t have the best hearing, but we can see like no other animal. How did I mistake a monkey’s tail for a caterpillar?

Wednesday, I sat on a rock. I was worried and upset and my color showed it. I was a little on the purple side. I sat looking all around me. Was I seeing everything? Was something wrong with my eyes? I just didn’t know.

Thursday I was extremely gray, feeling so sad.

I wasn’t sure what to do. If my eyes weren’t seeing like they should, how would I climb through the trees and find my next snack. I just wanted to get a way for a while. I slowly moved along branches and limbs. Carefully wrapping my toes and feet and tail around every twig to be sure I didn’t fall to the ground.

Friday, I woke up and didn’t know how far from home I was, in my sad mood I know I scaled many trees. I looked around and hoped my eyesight wouldn’t fail me as I started home. Out of nowhere jumped the monkey that scared me on Tuesday! It was such a surprise, my color changed to yellow! I quickly moved through the trees as the monkey followed me. I thought monkey was chasing me, using my prehensile tail I did a loop around the branch and dropped to the ground and ran – I can reach speeds up to 21 miles an hour so outrunning a monkey was easy. When I arrived home, I saw all of the other animals that lived in the canopy of trees, they were all saying “Surprise!” I was still bright yellow, not knowing what was happening. They handed me a gift box. Inside was a pair of glasses! When I looked up, all the animals were wearing glasses! My friends are so funny. Monkey then told me I would never mistake his tail for a caterpillar again!

Saturday, I was happy as could be – my scales were different colors. My new glasses helped me see better than ever.

Remember, writing is right on! So, write a comment below.

Your friend,

Charlie Chameleon

Do you remember? What color was Charlie Chameleon when he was angry? What day of the week was he worried? How fast did Charlie Chameleon run? What color was he when he was happy?

Additional tidbits – It is true that chameleons have extremely good eyesight, they can see 360 degrees moving each eye in different directions. A chameleon’s tail is much like a human’s hand – both are prehensile, meaning they can grasp things. There are many different types of chameleons, the Panther chameleon is the most colorful. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. More than 70% of life in the Madagascar rainforest exists in the trees.

Download and color me!