The Curious Kangaroo

by Amelia Cobb

  “Why aren’t you doing your job?” said Mr Pinch. “And why did you take an animal into the gift shop? That’s against the zoo rules.”

  Meep came hopping over, holding the cloth.

  “I’ve finished my job,” said Zoe quickly. “What would you like me to do next?”

  Mr Pinch went over and inspected the bins. “Hmm, not bad,” he said. “OK, your next job is a very important job indeed.”

  “Yes?” said Zoe eagerly, wondering which animals it would involve. Maybe she could feed the pandas … or help wash the elephants?

  “Your next job,” Mr Pinch continued, “is to find my whistle.”

  Zoe’s face fell. “Yes, Mr Pinch,” she replied as he strode away. She felt a bit fed up. The jobs Mr Pinch had given her wouldn’t help her become a zookeeper. She’d never seen a zookeeper cleaning a rubbish bin or searching for a whistle!

  But Zoe felt happier when she reached the monkey enclosure a few minutes later. With its tall trees and beautiful wild flowers, it was one of her favourite places in the Rescue Zoo. And at least Bouncer would be able to hop around without getting lost or into trouble. Using the special paw-print charm on her necklace, Zoe let herself into the enclosure.

  The air was filled with the sound of the chattering monkeys as they swung from branch to branch. Zoe wondered which of the cheeky monkeys had stolen Mr Pinch’s whistle and where it could be now. She took Bouncer from her pouch and Meep jumped down from her shoulder.

  “I need you to help me find Mr Pinch’s whistle,” Zoe said to them. “Keep your eyes open for anything shiny and silver.”

  “And noisy,” Meep muttered.

  Zoe laughed. “Yes, although a whistle is only noisy when someone blows it!”

  Zoe walked along slowly, her eyes scouring the floor for any sign of the silver whistle. Meep and Bouncer raced ahead of her, Meep copying Bouncer and hopping on his hind legs. Seeing them jump like that made Zoe think of her sack race again. Then she had a great idea – maybe she could practise for the race while looking for Mr Pinch’s whistle! So she started jumping through the enclosure too. Up in the branches above them the monkeys shrieked with delight when they saw what Zoe, Meep and Bouncer were doing.

  A howler monkey called Harry hooted down to Zoe.

  “I’m practising for a sack race and looking for a whistle,” Zoe replied, jumping over a cluster of daisies. “I don’t suppose you know who took Mr Pinch’s whistle, do you?”

  Harry shook his head. Then he hooted loudly. One by one, the monkeys came down from the trees and started scampering beside the three friends.

  Zoe jumped over an old tree branch and through a patch of dandelions and under a canopy of ferns. The sun shone through the leaves in shimmers of glittering gold. It was like being in an enchanted woodland.

  The monkeys shrieked louder and louder as they all hopped, skipped and jumped through the enclosure. Zoe was having so much fun now that she totally forgot to look for the whistle. She did bigger and bigger jumps … right into someone wearing a very smart uniform and shiny shoes!

  Zoe looked up to see Mr Pinch glaring down at her.

  “What are you doing?” he snapped. “When I heard all the noise coming from the monkey enclosure I came to see what was happening.”

  “I was looking for your whistle,” Zoe panted, out of breath from all the bouncing.

  “Oh really?” Mr Pinch raised an eyebrow. “So why on earth were you jumping?”

  “I have my school sports day on Monday,” Zoe explained, “and I need to practise for the sack race. But I was looking for your whistle too.”

  “Hmm,” frowned Mr Pinch. “Well, less bouncing and more looking, please.”

  “Yes, Mr Pinch.”

  Zoe watched as Mr Pinch stomped off. The monkeys returned to their trees – apart from one, Mickey the spider monkey. Zoe thought he looked a bit guilty.

  “Mickey, do you know where the whistle is?” Zoe asked softly.

  The monkey nodded and chattered away to Zoe.

  “So you took the whistle from Mr Pinch. Well, it’s wrong to steal things, Mickey,” Zoe said. “You mustn’t do that again. Where is the whistle now?”

  Mickey chattered quietly to Zoe.

  “You threw it over the fence.” Zoe’s heart sank. She’d been hoping their whistle hunt would be over but it seemed it had only just begun!

  Just then, Meep came scampering over. “Time to search somewhere new for the whistle, Meep,” said Zoe, patting Mickey on his fluffy head. He looked a little sad and she could tell he felt guilty about taking the whistle!

  “Um, Zoe, that’s not the only thing we need to search for,” said Meep, looking worried.

  “What do you mean?” asked Zoe.

  The little lemur pulled a face. “Bouncer’s gone missing again!”

  Zoe and Meep searched the monkey enclosure but Bouncer was nowhere to be seen. Zoe wondered if the little kangaroo had followed Mr Pinch out of the enclosure, and so Meep and Zoe headed out too, making sure the gate was shut firmly behind them. Outside, the path split into four different directions. Which way should they choose?

  “Excuse me, have you seen a baby kangaroo?” Zoe asked a man who was walking past, holding a camera.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I have,” the man said with a chuckle. “I even took a photo of her – look.” The man showed Zoe the screen on the back of his camera. There was a picture of Bouncer on it, hopping around outside the hippo enclosure.

  “Thank you!” Zoe exclaimed. She and Meep raced off down the path leading to the hippos.

  But when they got there, there was no sign of Bouncer. Using her silver paw-print charm, Zoe let herself into the enclosure and went over to the pool where the hippos, Albert, Rona, Hetty and Henry, were splashing about in the slurpy mud.

  “Have you seen a little kangaroo?” Zoe called to them.

  Hetty nodded her huge grey head and grunted to her.

  “She was just here?” Zoe said. “Did you see which way she went?”

  Albert nodded his head in the direction of the panda enclosure.

  “Thank you!” Zoe cried.

  Zoe and Meep hurried out and followed the red-brick path down to the panda enclosure. When they got to the plum tree outside they stopped and peered through the fence. The panda twins Chi-Chi and Mei-Mei were snuggled together in the shade of the tree. They were chewing on their favourite food, bamboo shoots. When they saw Zoe and Meep they squeaked excitedly.

  “Hello!” Zoe replied. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen a baby kangaroo?”

  The bears came scampering over to the fence. Even though they were a lot bigger than when they’d arrived at the zoo, their fur was still fluffy and soft.

  Chi-Chi nodded and Mei-Mei grunted.

  “She wanted to know why you were eating bamboo?” Zoe replied. She couldn’t help laughing. Bouncer really was the most curious animal she’d ever met! “And then where did she go?” she asked.

  The twins nodded in the direction of the lion enclosure.

  Zoe smiled. “Thank you.” She picked up Meep and popped him on to her shoulder. At least she was getting lots of running practice for sports day!

  With Meep on her shoulder, Zoe ran along the path to the lion enclosure. She heard Rory give a loud roar. As she ran round a bend in the path and the enclosure came into view, she saw the majestic lion right up next to the fence. And there, on the other side, chattering away to him, was Bouncer!

  Zoe raced over. “Bouncer!” she cried. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

  Rory gave another friendly roar.

  “What was that?” said Zoe. “Bouncer wanted to know why you have such long hair?”

  Rory nodded and shook out his long golden mane.

  “Oh, Bouncer, you really do want to know about everything!” Zoe exclaimed.

  Bouncer hopped up and down excitedly. Zoe crouched down next to the baby kangaroo. She was clutching something shiny and silver in her paw.

  �
�Bouncer! You found the whistle!” Zoe exclaimed.

  The little kangaroo nodded her head.

  “Where was it?” asked Zoe.

  Bouncer chattered away.

  Zoe smiled. “You went to look at an interesting bush near the monkey enclosure and you found the whistle underneath it?” Zoe took the whistle from Bouncer, then picked her up and tucked her back in the pouch. “Well done, Bouncer!”

  “Zoe! Zoe!” Meep chirped.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Meep pointed back along the footpath the way they’d come.

  Mr Pinch was marching towards them – and he was looking furious!

  “I’m very cross!” Mr Pinch announced as soon as he reached them. “Very cross indeed.”

  “Uh-oh,” Meep muttered as he hopped on to Zoe’s shoulder.

  “Why?” asked Zoe, quickly tucking Bouncer back into the pouch.

  “Because I’ve been getting reports from all over the zoo about a runaway kangaroo,” Mr Pinch replied, glaring at Bouncer. “A runaway baby kangaroo!”

  Zoe gulped.

  “What is going on?” Mr Pinch snapped. “First I catch you with that animal in the gift shop. Then you nearly cause a riot in the monkey enclosure. And then I find out that the little menace has been hopping about all over the zoo!”

  “Well, you did say you didn’t like her being in the pouch,” Zoe said.

  “Yes but I didn’t mean she should be let loose all over the zoo,” Mr Pinch spluttered. “She needs to be put in an enclosure, right away!”

  Zoe suddenly thought of something. “But Bouncer found your whistle!” she cried. “Look.” She held out the shiny silver whistle to Mr Pinch.

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Mr Pinch exclaimed. He grabbed the whistle from Zoe and a rare smile flashed across his face.

  “Right, well, in that case, I’m willing to overlook the kangaroo’s behaviour,” said Mr Pinch. “Just this once, mind.” He brought the whistle up to his lips and gave it a long, loud blow as he strolled off down the path.

  At the sound of the whistle, Rory gave a huge roar and bounded away, shaking his head. Bouncer and Meep cringed, and Zoe put her hands over her ears! Although Zoe was happy that they’d found Mr Pinch’s whistle, she knew the noise really upset all the animals. She sighed. If only she could stop him from using his whistle in the zoo.

  Suddenly a brilliant idea popped into Zoe’s head. She just needed to tell Mr Pinch what it was … and hope he agreed with her!

  “Mr Pinch!” Zoe called, running after him. “I’ve thought of a place where you and your whistle could be very useful indeed…”

  On Monday morning Zoe woke up bright and early, excited about sports day. And she wasn’t the only one – Bouncer and Meep were already awake and chattering away at the end of her bed.

  “I wish I could be in a sports day,” Meep chirruped. “On your marks, get set, go!” he cried, before leaping off the bed.

  Bouncer giggled and hopped up and down. Then she snuggled up on the pillow next to Zoe and chattered in her ear.

  “You want to come to my sports day too?” Zoe said.

  Bouncer nodded.

  “OK, I’ll ask Mum if she can bring you. But you have to promise to stay in your pouch and no hopping off and getting lost!” Zoe said.

  Bouncer chattered in agreement.

  “What about me? What about me?” Meep cried, scampering up on to the bed.

  “I’ll ask her if she can bring you too. But both of you have to promise to be on your very best behaviour.”

  “Of course,” said Meep seriously.

  Bouncer hopped up and down excitedly.

  Downstairs in the kitchen, Lucy had made a special sports day breakfast, with lots of cereal and fruit to give Zoe energy for her races. She’d taken the morning off work so she could come to Zoe’s sports day and cheer loudly for everyone!

  “Mum, would it be all right if you brought Bouncer and Meep to sports day?” Zoe asked.

  “Oh, I’m not sure,” Lucy replied. “I don’t think Mr Pinch would be happy with me taking animals off the zoo premises. You know how strict he is with the rules.”

  “Yes but this is different, isn’t it?” Zoe said with a big smile. “I mean, this time he’ll be there to keep an eye on the animals!”

  “Ah yes, of course,” said Lucy, winking at Zoe. “All thanks to your bright idea! Well, in that case, I don’t think it will be a problem at all.”

  Meep and Bouncer chattered and hopped up and down excitedly.

  As soon as she got to school, Zoe and her class got changed into their PE kits and made their way to the playing field. The sun was shining brightly and there was a nice cool breeze. It was the perfect day for running – or jumping – in a race. Zoe hoped she’d be able to do the sack race without falling over. She’d had such a busy weekend doing jobs for Mr Pinch and running around after Bouncer she hadn’t had nearly enough time to practise!

  A crowd of parents were sitting in rows of chairs at the edge of the field. Zoe scanned the faces for her mum. Lucy was sitting in the middle of the front row, waving and smiling. Meep was perched on her shoulder and Bouncer’s cute little face was poking out of the pouch, her ears twitching and her eyes darting about.

  The first race was the egg and spoon. Zoe wasn’t taking part in this one so she stood back with the rest of her class while the competitors took their places at the start line.

  “Good luck, Jack” she called to her friend as he put the egg on his spoon, ready to race.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest with us today,” Miss Hawkins announced to the crowd through a megaphone. “He’s going to help us start the races. Please welcome Mr Percy Pinch, manager of the Rescue Zoo!”

  Zoe grinned as she watched Mr Pinch step up next to Miss Hawkins. He looked very pleased with himself and was all puffed up like a puffin! His uniform looked smarter than ever and his polished shoes glimmered in the morning sun. As the crowd cheered, Mr Pinch took a little bow, then he brought his shiny silver whistle up to his lips.

  “On your marks…” Miss Hawkins shouted.

  “Get set…” Mr Pinch blew his whistle loudly to signal that the race should start. Zoe grinned.

  She was so pleased that she’d asked Mr Pinch to come along to the sports day and help with all the races – by blowing his very loud whistle to start each race! He’d been delighted at the opportunity to use his whistle lots of times, and Miss Hawkins was very pleased to have some help. And, best of all, the noise wouldn’t disturb any animals!

  Zoe looked over to her mum to see if Bouncer was enjoying the egg and spoon race, but the pouch was empty and Lucy was looking about, a worried expression on her face. Zoe’s heart sank. Surely Bouncer hadn’t disappeared again! Zoe scanned the crowd of parents for any sign of the little kangaroo, but she couldn’t see her anywhere. Lucy was standing up now and looking under her chair. Meep was hopping about anxiously on the floor beside her. But before Zoe could do anything it was time to get ready for the sack race.

  As Zoe made her way over to the start line her heart was thumping. But she wasn’t nervous about the race, she was worried about what had happened to Bouncer. Who knew where the curious kangaroo had gone this time!

  “Racers, get into your sacks,” called Miss Hawkins.

  Zoe wriggled her legs into the scratchy brown sack. Oh, Bouncer, where could you be? she wondered.

  “On your marks…” called Miss Hawkins, in a louder voice.

  “Get set…”

  Mr Pinch gave an extra-loud toot on the whistle to start the race.

  Zoe started jumping. The crowd started clapping and cheering. But Zoe didn’t really mind about doing well in the race any more, she just hoped Bouncer was OK. The clapping and cheering got louder and now the crowd were laughing. But why? Then Zoe noticed something hopping along beside her. It was Bouncer!

  Zoe nearly tripped over, she was so surprised. But somehow she kept her balance. Bouncer hopped even faster
until she was leading the race! Zoe kept her eyes on the little kangaroo and started jumping along in time. Having Bouncer there really helped! The cheers of the crowd really encouraged her too.

  “Come on, Zoe!” she heard Jack and Nicola shouting.

  “Well done, Zoe!” Lucy cried.

  “Faster, Zoe; faster, Bouncer!” she heard Meep chirrup.

  Zoe jumped faster and longer, still matching Bouncer’s hops. And then suddenly the finish line loomed into view. With one final huge hop, Bouncer crossed the line – with Zoe right behind her. As she came down to land she stumbled and fell. But it didn’t matter – she was over the line. She’d finished the race. And as Zoe looked up she saw the rest of the racers still approaching – she’d finished first! Or second, if you counted Bouncer.

  Zoe couldn’t believe it. She scooped up the little kangaroo and gave her a cuddle.

  All of her friends gathered round to see the baby kangaroo, stroking her head and tickling her under the chin. Meep jumped on her shoulder to give her a little cuddle.

  Finally Zoe was able to make her way back to her mum.

  “Well done, Zoe,” said Lucy, giving her a hug. “You were great.”

  “Yes,” said a voice behind her. “You did the Rescue Zoo proud.” Zoe turned to see Mr Pinch holding his whistle, with a smile on his face.

  “Thank you,” said Zoe, beaming. She turned to her mum. “How did Bouncer get on to the race track?”

  “Yes, how did that happen?” said Mr Pinch, sternly.

  Zoe’s heart sank. She hoped her mum wasn’t going to get into trouble.

  “When she heard all the noise she wanted to see what was going on,” Lucy replied. “She wriggled and wriggled and before I knew it she was out of the pouch! I am sorry, Mr Pinch,” she added.

  “That’s all right,” Mr Pinch said gruffly. “I suppose it’s all turned out OK. And I’ve decided to give my whistle to the school. I think they’ll find it useful to help keep all of these noisy children in order!”