The Sleepy Snowy Owl
Page 4
“We heard you had the best fireworks here. We just wanted to set a few off ourselves,” mumbled one of the boys sheepishly.
“Well, it’s a good job we caught you!” announced Mr Pinch. “These special fireworks are for the Rescue Zoo’s New Year’s Eve celebrations – a very important event. Thanks to my quick thinking, the show will go on!”
Zoe couldn’t believe it. Mr Pinch seemed to have changed his mind about the fireworks, now that he had stopped them from being taken! As she watched, Great-Uncle Horace arrived on the scene and congratulated Mr Pinch on his good work in raising the alarm.
“We all know who really saved the day,” Zoe whispered to Ollie, giving the little owlet a cuddle. “Your brilliant owl hearing meant those boys were caught! New Year’s Eve would have been ruined if you hadn’t raised the alarm!”
As she spoke, Ollie’s little eyes closed. Zoe giggled. “You look ready for bed at last, after all that excitement,” she said, and was relieved to see Ollie nod. He gently hooted that he might be ready to go to sleep now!
Chapter Eight
New Year’s Eve
“Happy New Year!” called Zoe, waving at David, the elephant keeper, as he walked past her with a tray of hot chocolate. Meep, perched on her shoulder, sniffed the air hungrily at the scent of the sweet drink.
“Almost, Zoe!” called back David, smiling. “We’ve got another few hours to go first!”
It was finally New Year’s Eve, and the Rescue Zoo was bustling with noise and people. Almost two hundred visitors had bought tickets to see the show, including lots of children from Zoe’s class at school! Zoe grinned and waved as her friends Nicola and Jack walked past with their parents. Jack’s face was painted like a crocodile with streaks of green and black, while Nicola’s was covered in sparkly blue swirls like the wings of a butterfly.
Zoe thought the zoo looked amazing! Colourful banners had been hung up around the fences, with “Ten Years Old!” painted on them, to let everyone know that today was the Rescue Zoo’s tenth anniversary. As well as the face-painting, someone was making balloon animals, and along the path were stalls piled high with delicious things to eat. Zoe had already enjoyed a baked potato topped with melted cheese, and then a gooey chocolate brownie. She’d even let Meep nibble a few crumbs of it, which he was very pleased about!
Now Zoe was on her way to meet Alison. The animal show was about to start, and she was sure that Ollie was going to be a star! The little owl had told Zoe he’d decided to take lots of little naps through the day and night. That way, he’d always be well rested and alert in case the zoo needed him again! So he was back to his bright, eager self. Zoe found Alison behind the zoo cafe, where all the keepers and animals who were taking part in the show had gathered. Ollie was perched on Alison’s red padded glove. Meep climbed down from Zoe’s shoulder and waited with the other animals. Meanwhile, Zoe carefully put on another glove, and took Ollie on her own hand as he hooted excitedly.
“It’s time for the first part of our New Year’s Eve celebrations!” announced Great-Uncle Horace, clapping his hands. “Everyone gather round me, please.”
Zoe watched as Great-Uncle Horace started the show by introducing Daisy, one of the giraffes. Daisy showed off her long neck and stood proudly while Great-Uncle Horace pointed out her beautiful pattern of patches and the knobbly ossicones on top of her head.
After that, three baby pygmy marmosets were brought out. The whole crowd gasped at the gorgeous babies, who were so small that they could perch together in her great-uncle’s hands!
Great-Uncle Horace explained that pygmy marmosets were the world’s smallest monkey, and talked about how he’d rescued their mother when the part of the rainforest she’d lived in had been cut down by people wanting the trees for firewood.
Zoe felt quite nervous when it was her turn to step forward and introduce Ollie. She saw her mum in the crowd, beaming at her encouragingly, and Alison gave her a big smile and a thumbs-up.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, I’m very pleased to welcome my great-niece, Zoe, who lives here at the zoo and knows it better than anyone – even me!” said Great-Uncle Horace. “Zoe’s going to introduce one of our very newest arrivals at the Rescue Zoo.”
Zoe held up her gloved hand and Ollie fluttered his wings happily. There was a gasp from the crowd.
“He’s sooooo cute,” said a boy in the front row.
“This is Ollie,” said Zoe, but she could hear the nervous tremble in her voice. “Um, he’s a snowy owl and he’s around four weeks old.” Zoe spotted her mum again, and she was nodding and smiling at her encouragingly. Beside her, she heard Great-Uncle Horace whisper, “You’re doing marvellously, Zoe! Why don’t you explain how Ollie arrived at the zoo?”
Zoe took a deep breath. “A few weeks ago, I was out on a walk with my mum and Great-Uncle Horace,” she explained to the crowd, and her voice was steadier this time. “I found a nest with an egg inside it, and it turned out to be a snowy owl nest. Snowy owls are really rare this far south. Everyone was worried because the egg had been abandoned, but we brought it back to the zoo and I looked after it with Alison, the bird keeper. We kept it warm in a special incubator, and Ollie hatched a few days later! Ollie’s a very special owl, because he’s active in the daytime and at night. He loves eating mealworms, but his favourite thing to do is practise flying.”
Zoe held out her arm, and right on cue Ollie fluttered his little wings as hard as he could and rose up from Zoe’s glove. The crowd gasped as the tiny owl managed three circles in the air above her head, before coming to rest back on the glove.
“Well done, Ollie!” said Zoe, beaming.
“And well done, Zoe!” added Great-Uncle Horace, clapping enthusiastically. “Another round of applause for our wonderful animals! And now it’s time for the next part of our evening – our special firework display, which will take place just over there, away from some of our more sensitive animal friends!”
Ollie hooted excitedly at Zoe. “I know – your first ever fireworks display! I think you’re going to like it!” replied Zoe in a whisper, grinning at the little owl.
Alison and Lucy came forward to congratulate Zoe on her part of the show, and Meep scampered over too.
“You were great, sweetheart!” said Lucy. “I’m so proud of you. And in front of that great big crowd too!”
Zoe grinned. “I was a bit nervous at first, but Ollie was brilliant, wasn’t he?” she said. “I knew everyone would be really interested in finding out more about him!”
“You were both great,” Alison said. “You and Ollie make a fantastic team! Why don’t you let me hold him now, so that you can go and get a sparkler? Looks like they’re being handed out over there!”
“Oh, yes, please!” said Zoe excitedly. She passed Ollie to Alison, giving him one final wink, and then ran over to choose a sparkler, with Meep scampering at her heels. At the edge of the clearing, a lady was setting up the final fireworks. “That must be the fireworks expert Great-Uncle Horace hired!” Zoe whispered to Meep as he climbed up on to her shoulder. “I bet that’s a really fun job!”
After the kids in the crowd had had a chance to play with the sparklers, Great-Uncle Horace led the crowd in counting down the final minute to midnight and the brand-new year.
Zoe stood with her mum and Alison, with Meep in her arms, and Ollie perched on Alison’s glove. Meep and Ollie seemed even more excited than the people in the crowd! They both squealed happily as the countdown reached zero, and everyone yelled “Happy New Year!” together.
Right then, the first firework took off. Zoe gazed up as it soared high into the air and exploded into a shower of pink and orange sparks, followed by green and yellow, and then blue and purple. Soon the whole sky was full of bright colours – and, incredibly, a few animal shapes too!
“Wow, look!” gasped Zoe, pointing. “Those yellow ones are in the shape of a lion, with a big furry mane!”
“And those ones look like big blue dolphins!” added Lu
cy, nodding at the sky. “Isn’t that amazing? I think these might be the best fireworks I’ve ever seen. We’re so lucky that they didn’t end up getting stolen!”
Zoe giggled as Ollie hopped up and down happily. “We’re so lucky that you were awake and that your sharp hearing meant you could raise the alarm, Ollie,” she whispered. “And we’re really, really lucky to live here at the Rescue Zoo! I can’t wait to find out what new animals this year will bring!”
Chapter One
Panda Playtime
Zoe Parker shivered and pulled her coat around her. “Brrr! It’s really chilly today!” she said.
“Chi Chi and Mei Mei don’t seem to mind!” replied Stephanie, the panda keeper. “Their thick furry coats must be keeping them nice and warm.”
It was a wintry Sunday morning at the Rescue Zoo, and Zoe was helping Stephanie in the panda enclosure. They each had a watering can and were sprinkling water over the bamboo plants. The Rescue Zoo pandas, Chi Chi and Mei Mei, liked lots of different fruits, nuts and seeds, but the juicy, green bamboo growing in their enclosure was their favourite thing to eat. And, like all pandas, they munched lots of it!
“They’re really playful this morning, aren’t they?” said Zoe, as Chi Chi chased her little sister across the enclosure, squeaking excitedly as she dashed right under Stephanie’s feet! Stephanie cried out in surprise, wobbled and almost lost her balance, grabbing on to a tree to keep herself from falling over.
“That was close!” she laughed. “I’ve almost tripped over them once already this morning, the cheeky little things.”
Zoe loved helping Stephanie look after the pandas. Whenever she had any spare time at all she could be found in the zoo: helping out the zookeepers or playing with the animals! But Zoe wasn’t a visitor, like most people who passed through the zoo gates – she actually lived at the Rescue Zoo! Her Great-Uncle Horace was a famous explorer and animal expert, and he had built the zoo so that all the lost, frightened and injured animals he met on his travels would have somewhere safe to live.
Zoe’s mum, Lucy, was the zoo vet. Lucy and Zoe lived in a little cottage at the edge of the zoo, so that whenever an animal was poorly or injured, Lucy was close by and could quickly help them. Zoe thought she was the luckiest girl in the world to have so many amazing animals right outside her front door!
Copyright
First published in the UK in 2016 by Nosy Crow Ltd
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Text copyright © Hothouse Fiction, 2016
Illustrations © Sophy Williams, 2016
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ISBN: 978 085763 702 4
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