The Eager Elephant (4 page)

Chapter Seven

Zoe's Day Off

When Zoe woke up the next day she yawned, stretched, then glanced at the panda clock on her bedside table. Then she looked at it again, feeling very confused. It was almost lunchtime!

“Meep, what's going on?” she said, sitting up in bed. “I'm late for school!”

Meep was perched by her feet, wide
awake. “You were still poorly, so your mum decided you needed to stay in bed!” he chirped. “She rang up school and explained you were having the day off. She keeps peeping through the door to see how you are, like when she checks on the animals at the zoo hospital! Goo and Kiki came too. Goo tucked your blankets round you so you were extra snug. But I've been taking the best care of you,” he added proudly.

Zoe was still a bit sniffly but her shivers had gone away. Apart from her
bunged-up
nose, she felt fine! She went downstairs and into the kitchen, realising her tummy was rumbling. She took some biscuits out of the cupboard, and just as she was popping one into her mouth, Lucy walked through the front door, her special vet bag
slung over her shoulder.

“You're awake!” she said, kissing Zoe's head. “How are you feeling?”

“A lot better,” Zoe said, taking a big bite of biscuit. “I was asleep for hours!”

Lucy looked at her watch. “Well, it's too late to go to school now. I think you can go out into the zoo for the rest of the day and get some fresh air. But I want you to take some
more medicine first, and you're not to get wet again! And stay away from the cold enclosures, please. No visiting Bella today, or the penguins.”

Zoe nodded happily, winking at Meep. Suddenly she was excited – she had a whole extra afternoon to spend at the zoo, and she'd still get to go on the walk with Oscar and Bertie! As Lucy set off to visit a baboon with a poorly eye, Zoe quickly ran upstairs and got dressed, being careful to wrap up warm. Then she and Meep headed out into the zoo, stopping to chat to their animal friends along the way.

One of the first enclosures they passed belonged to Harold the hyena. Harold padded straight up to the fence and gave a friendly bark. “Thanks, Harold! I feel
much better today,” replied Zoe, smiling. “But how did you know I was poorly?”

“That was my idea,” Meep told her proudly. “When Goo and Kiki came to visit you, I asked Kiki to fly around the zoo, telling all the animals you weren't very well. We've thought of lots of ways to help you feel better!”

Harold wagged his tail eagerly. The funny hyena explained that laughter was the best medicine, so Zoe should try listening to one of his jokes. “OK then!” said Zoe, grinning.

Harold barked his joke and waited hopefully. “Hmm, I don't know that one!” said Zoe, thinking. “What kind of fish only swims at night?”

Harold barked the answer – and started screeching with laughter! Zoe giggled too.
“A starfish! That's funny. Thanks, Harold. I do feel better!” she told him.

As Zoe and Meep carried on walking through the zoo, all her animal friends wanted to ask how she was feeling. Lots more tried to give her helpful tips too. The sloths, Peggy and Pepper, sleepily advised
her to get plenty of rest, before closing their eyes and starting to snore noisily. And the baby hippo, Hetty, suggested she sit down in some squishy mud, because doing that always made her feel better!

Zoe grinned and pulled Meep into her arms for a cuddle. “I'm not sure I like the idea of a mud bath,” she whispered, giggling. “But having all my animal friends around is making me feel lots better.”

Zoe stroked Meep's soft fur and gave him a kiss on the top of his furry head. “Now I
really
can't wait to take Bertie round the zoo and let him meet everyone properly!”

Chapter Eight

The Elephant Stroll

As Zoe got close to the elephant enclosure she spotted David inside, putting fresh straw in Oscar and Bertie’s cosy shelter.

“Hi, Zoe!” he called, smiling. “How are you feeling?”

“Better! I would have hated to miss Bertie’s first walk,” Zoe explained.

David nodded. “I thought we could take
them to the water-lily lake. Bertie can paddle in the shallow water, and maybe we could convince Oscar to try it too!”

“Bertie’s going to be so excited to go for a walk round the zoo!” Zoe whispered to Meep. “And I think he’ll love the lake.”

“But, Zoe, do you really think Oscar will want to have a paddle?” Meep asked, frowning.

Zoe shook her head. “No, I don’t! But there are lots of nice trees around the lake, and mud for him to cool down in, so I’m sure he’ll have fun anyway.”

Zoe went with David to get some treats for the elephants, to help keep them from wandering off on their walk. Zoe knew she could tell Bertie which way to go – but she was sure he’d like some treats too! Meep scampered ahead eagerly, and
when they arrived back at the enclosure, the tiny lemur had already told the elephants to get ready for their walk. Oscar looked very pleased, and Bertie was so excited he was racing around in circles!

David walked ahead of them to clear the path through the zoo, and Zoe strolled between Oscar and Bertie. For every five steps she took, Oscar took just one slow, giant step. Zoe could feel the path shake beneath her feet as the huge creature plodded along next to her. Bertie kept rushing to look inside each new enclosure they passed.

Lots of the other zoo creatures grunted, squeaked or roared hello as the group walked past. Oscar and Bertie raised their trunks to say hello back. After a few minutes, Bertie turned to Oscar and Zoe and gave a puzzled squeal.

Zoe giggled. “You haven’t seen any animals with trunks like yours, Bertie, because there aren’t any! Only elephants have them.”

Bertie shook his head in disbelief, but Oscar nodded gently, agreeing with Zoe. The little elephant trumpeted again curiously.

“Well, I use my hands to pick things up, and Meep uses his little paws,” Zoe explained. “Some animals have strong jaws and teeth to carry things, like the lions and tigers. The pelicans use their clever bills to scoop up fish. And some
animals carry everything they need on their backs, like the tortoises. Every creature is different.”

Bertie stretched out his trunk in front of his face and gave a noisy toot. He was even more proud of his trunk now that he understood how special it was!

The zoo was busy now and the visitors they passed couldn’t believe their eyes as the funny group walked by. Zoe beamed proudly as they pulled out their cameras and phones to take photos.

“Can I touch the little one?” one very tiny girl asked shyly.

“Of course!” Zoe said. Leaning forward, she whispered, “Hold still!” in Bertie’s ear. The girl giggled as she softly patted his head – then laughed delightedly as the baby elephant curled his trunk round her
middle for a hug.

Suddenly a voice snapped, “David, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Oh no,” grumbled Meep as Mr Pinch marched over. “Why does horrid old Mr Pinch always spoil the fun?”

“I need to discuss the results from Weigh Day with you,” Mr Pinch continued bossily. “Come to my office, please. It will only take a moment.” He shot Zoe and Meep a mean look and added, “And then I’d like to know why certain people are not at school on a school day!”

David hesitated, then nodded. “Will you be all right, Zoe? Carry on and I’ll catch you up in a minute or two. Don’t lose any elephants,” he teased, grinning.

Zoe smiled back as David and Mr
Pinch disappeared down the path. She wasn’t sure she could ever manage to lose something so big!

Zoe waved to some other visitors and watched as David and Mr Pinch strolled out of sight.

Walking through the zoo with
two
elephants was even slower than walking with just Oscar! All the visitors wanted them to stop and have their photo taken with Oscar and Bertie.

“We’re never going to get to the lake!” Meep chattered in Zoe’s ear.

“Let’s take a short cut through the hippo enclosure,” Zoe suggested as they passed the enclosure door. “I’m sure Hetty the baby hippo would love to meet baby Bertie!”

She pressed her special paw-print
necklace to the door and led the two elephants inside.

The hippo enclosure was a big, flat pasture full of grass for the hippos to eat and a big muddy lake for them to wallow in. Zoe shaded her eyes from the sun and saw the shapes of all the hippos, Humphrey, Hilda, Helena and baby Hetty, some in the pasture and some in the lake, their heads just poking out of the water like big rocks.

When he saw the glittering water, Bertie trumpeted loudly in excitement.

Before Zoe could stop him, the little elephant trotted straight to the water’s edge to dip his feet in, and started splashing around playfully.

“Bertie, no!” Zoe called. “That’s not the water-lily lake, that’s the hippo lake. It’s
quite deep and I don’t think they want to be disturbed by a baby elephant. Please come out!”

Oscar hung back near the enclosure fence, eying the water nervously. “It’s OK,” Zoe said as she turned to soothe the old elephant, stroking his warm ears and patting his trunk.

But Oscar just looked more and more nervous. Suddenly he looked over Zoe’s
head and gave a huge trumpet. Zoe heard the alarm in Oscar’s call and whirled round. She gasped, her heart thudding hard in her chest. While she wasn’t looking, Bertie had waded even further into the lake – and now he was struggling to stay above the water. The little elephant was in big trouble!