by Amelia Cobb
“What’s going on?” Zoe asked. “Why is everyone laughing?”
“That’s why!” chirped Meep, pointing at Jamie.
Behind them, the little giraffe was stumbling down the path, his knees wobbling and knocking together with every step he took. He lurched from one side of the path to the other, almost crashing into the fence once or twice. But he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was giggling along with all the other animals!
“His walking’s even worse than yesterday, Zoe!” laughed Meep, shaking his head.
Zoe smiled at the little giraffe’s antics, but secretly she felt a bit worried. Meep was right – Jamie did seem to have got even more clumsy than he’d been the day before. Something didn’t feel right. Surely his walking should be getting better every day – not worse?
At school the next day, Zoe told all her friends about the zoo’s adorable new arrival.
“You actually watched him being born?” gasped her friend Jack. “That’s amazing, Zoe! I wish I could see something like that.”
Zoe’s teacher, Miss Hawkins, was very interested in hearing about Jamie too. After lunch, she surprised the class by showing them all a film on the Internet of a baby giraffe in the wild taking its first shaky steps. “Everyone gather round and watch,” she said, clicking ‘play’ on the film.
All Zoe’s classmates crowded around the computer and watched as the baby giraffe moved its long, skinny legs forward, one at a time. At first it stumbled and wobbled, and the class gasped as it almost tumbled over – but quickly the little animal seemed to get the hang of it, and was walking slowly and steadily along in no time.
“See how quickly giraffes learn to walk?” Miss Hawkins asked the class, and everyone nodded. “Zoe, I’m sure you can tell us why.”
“It’s so that they can run away from predators, like lions and hyenas,” explained Zoe, remembering what Great-Uncle Horace had told her when Jamie was born.
“That’s right. They’re very smart creatures indeed,” said Miss Hawkins, smiling at Zoe.
“I can’t believe you have a cute baby giraffe living right next to your house, Zoe,” sighed Zoe’s friend Nicola wistfully. “You’re so, so lucky.”
Zoe thought so too! But seeing how quickly the baby giraffe in the film had got the hang of walking made her think of Jamie’s strange behaviour yesterday. Suddenly she felt worried. Jamie’s walking was supposed to be getting better and better, but it wasn’t. What if there was something wrong with his legs?
For the rest of the day, she found it hard to concentrate on her schoolwork, wondering if Jamie was doing any better today.
When she got back to the zoo that afternoon, Meep was perched on the gates at the zoo entrance. “Zoe, I’ve been waiting for you,” her little friend chirped excitedly. “Quick, come and see what Jamie’s doing.” He bounced down nimbly on to the path and started scampering in the direction of the giraffe enclosure, with Zoe following him.
When they arrived at the enclosure, Zoe heard a funny, high-pitched squawking sound. What is that? she thought. It’s not the elephants today – and it’s not Jamie either.
She used her special necklace to open the gate, and she and Meep slipped inside. Across the enclosure, Zoe could see Jamie standing next to the watering hole. He was bending his long neck down to the water so that he could have a drink.
“Oh, that’s good, Meep!” said Zoe, pleased. “Jamie’s learned what the watering hole is for.”
“Hmm,” Meep smiled mysteriously.
As Zoe watched, Jamie stretched his neck further and further over the water, and his legs started to wobble. “Oh no! I think Jamie’s leaning too far over. He’s about to lose his balance!” said Zoe. She started running forward, and saw Jewel trotting over to the waterhole too, bleating anxiously at her calf to be careful.
With a huge splash, the baby giraffe toppled into the water!
Zoe gasped. “Quick, Meep – we’d better go and ask for help from some of the zoo keepers!”
But to Zoe’s surprise, Meep burst out laughing – and the same strange, high-pitched squawking from before broke out around the enclosure. She looked up and saw a flock of birds perched in the acacia trees, watching Jamie, all shaking their feathers as they laughed and squawked together.
Jamie climbed out of the waterhole, giggling and shaking droplets from his neck, coat and tail.
“He’s OK!” Zoe exclaimed, feeling really relieved. “He did it on purpose!”
“He’s been doing it all afternoon,” Meep explained. “All the other animals think it’s brilliant. He’s so funny, Zoe. I love Jamie!”
Zoe smiled at her friend. She loved the playful little calf too, but she was also worried about him. What if he’d really hurt himself? Parts of the waterhole were quite deep, and there were some big rocks that Jamie could have cut or scratched himself on. Plus, all the other animals in the zoo were getting overexcited – and Zoe knew that Mr Pinch was going to get very cross if that carried on!
She watched as Jewel lowered her long neck and spoke quietly to her baby. Then the older giraffe nudged Jamie back to the edge of the watering hole and took a drink herself, balancing carefully on her slender legs as she did so. As Jamie leaned forward and had a drink too, Jewel watched closely.
“Look, Meep! Jewel’s teaching Jamie how to do it without falling in,” Zoe said, feeling very pleased.
But a second later, a giggling Jamie splashed into the waterhole again! Jewel huffed crossly, while Meep held his tummy and spluttered with laughter.
Zoe bit her lip anxiously. “Meep, I’m glad Jamie’s having so much fun at the zoo – and he’s making you and all the other animals laugh,” she said. “But maybe we need to show him how to be a little bit more sensible and still have fun?”
But Meep didn’t answer. He was too busy giggling.
After dinner that evening, Zoe was helping her mum clear the table when there was a knock on the door. Lucy went to answer it. “Oh, it’s you, Mr Pinch!” she said with a smile. “Come in.”
Mr Pinch stepped inside the cottage. He spotted Meep perching on the dinner table and frowned. “No wonder that little troublemaker never learns any manners, if he’s allowed to sit on the table,” he commented. Meep stuck his tongue out at Mr Pinch, and somehow Zoe managed to hide her smile.
“Oh, Meep can be cheeky at times but he’s as good as gold really,” Lucy told him. “Anyway, what can we do for you, Mr Pinch?”
“I’m here to talk to you about the Best Zoo competition,” Mr Pinch said in his bossiest voice. “I’ve been secretly visiting the other zoos that have entered the competition, to see what we’re up against.”
“What do you mean, secretly visiting them?” Zoe asked.
“Well, I couldn’t let them know it was me, so I had to go in disguise,” Mr Pinch replied.
“You went in disguise?” A picture of Mr Pinch in a pair of dark glasses and a fake moustache and beard popped into Zoe’s head. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. “I think that’s called spying,” she whispered to Meep, who sniggered behind his paws.
“First I went to Tall Tails Zoo. They won the Best Zoo Award last year,” said Mr Pinch. “They have a huge paddock full of wild ponies that have been rescued. Visitors can go right up to the ponies and feed them by hand. Apparently people love it, although I can’t think why. I can’t stand the thought of a pony slobbering all over me – yuck!” He shuddered. “Then I took a trip to Chestnut Creek Zoo. They’ve won the award three times, which, if you ask me, is just greedy! They have a huge glass dome with a miniature rainforest inside it, full of tropical wildlife. It was much too hot for my liking, but it seemed very popular, I suppose.” He pulled a face.
“They both sound wonderful,” said Lucy, smiling. “Don’t they, Zoe? Well, I suppose we’ll just have to try our best on Saturday—”
“Anyway, I’ve come up with a brilliant way of making sure we beat them both,” interrupted Mr Pinch. “Something that doesn’t involve slobbering ponies or trop
ical heat. When the judges arrive, we’re going to hold an animal parade. With the help of our keepers, the animals will march through the zoo, one by one. It will be perfect! And no other zoo will be doing it,” he added smugly.
“That’s a very interesting idea, Mr Pinch,” Lucy replied thoughtfully. “What about our more dangerous animals though? How will they take part?”
“Oh, well, of course we won’t be able to include every animal in the parade,” said Mr Pinch. “The lions and the crocodiles, for example, will stay in their enclosures, but we’ll still include them in some way. Perhaps we’ll give them some new, special toys that will help the judges to see how fascinating they are. But only the safest and most well-behaved animals will walk in the parade, like the monkeys, the elephants, the parrots and the giraffes.”
Meep let out a squeal of laughter and Mr Pinch gave him a stern look. He just thought Meep was making lots of noise!
The giraffes! thought Zoe. As much as she loved Jamie the giraffe, he certainly wasn’t one of the zoo’s most well-behaved animals. And if he took part in a parade, where lots of other animals and people would be watching him, Zoe just knew he’d do his best to make everyone laugh. And then all the other animals would get overexcited and everything would get very noisy and messy. This could go very, very badly, she thought to herself. Very badly indeed!
A couple of days later, Zoe and Meep were helping the zoo keepers to sweep, scrub and polish every corner of the zoo. The judges of the Best Zoo Award were visiting in just a few days and Mr Pinch had decided that all the enclosures should be cleaned and tidied. “To win the Best Zoo Award the zoo must look its best!” he had announced.
As soon as she’d got home from school, Zoe had watered the flowers that lined the zoo path. Then she’d helped to put a fresh coat of paint on three fences. Now she was cleaning up a big muddy puddle outside the hippo enclosure.
As she swirled her mop in her bucket of soapy water, she smiled at the smallest hippo in the family, Henry, who was watching her with bright, eager eyes from the other side of the fence.
It was Henry who had made the puddle Zoe was cleaning up – he loved splashing in the muddy watering hole in his enclosure, and it always made a big mess.
“Try not to splash mud over the fence now, Henry,” Zoe whispered once she’d finished. “At least until after the judges have visited on Saturday!”
Next, Zoe and Meep went to the monkey enclosure, where Annie, the monkey keeper, was tidying up. “Can we help?” called Zoe through the fence.
“That would be wonderful, Zoe,” replied Annie. “Why don’t you grab that broom and sweep up the empty peanut shells from the ground?”
Zoe brushed the shells into a tidy pile. Then she and Annie started to pick up the old banana skins and put them in a bin bag.
“We’re almost there, I think,” said Annie, smiling at Zoe. “Thanks for helping out, Zoe. I don’t think this enclosure has ever looked so spotless!”
As Zoe picked up the last banana skin, there was a noisy hooting sound from above her head, where the Rescue Zoo monkeys were perched in the treetops. Zoe glanced up to see what they were laughing at.
“It’s Jamie!” chattered Meep, pointing to the giraffe enclosure across the path. “Look, he’s trying to climb a tree – just like the monkeys!”
Zoe peered over the fence to get a better look at the funny little giraffe. He was galloping around an acacia tree, jumping as high as he could against the trunk and then tumbling to the ground. Every time he fell, the baby giraffe burst out laughing – and so did the monkeys!
Zoe smiled, but she couldn’t help feeling anxious. Jamie was still only a few days old. What if he bruised or cut himself, or twisted one of his ankles?
She was relieved to see Jewel walking over to Jamie and speaking quietly into his ear. She’s trying to get him to stop, she thought. His mum doesn’t want him to hurt himself either.
“Jewel seems so calm compared to her baby, doesn’t she, Zoe?” said Annie, nodding at Jewel and Jamie.
Zoe nodded, watching the graceful way Jewel moved around. “Jamie has so much energy,” she said.
“Baby giraffes always do,” Annie said with a smile. “Did you know they only need two or three hours’ sleep a day? A human baby needs sixteen or seventeen hours.”
“Wow!” said Zoe.
“Only two or three hours sleep a day!” Meep chattered in Zoe’s ear, looking amazed. “I can’t imagine that. Apart from eating, sleeping is my favourite thing to do!”
Zoe watched as Jewel nudged Jamie towards the branches of the tree and showed him how to pull some leaves off to eat. Jamie ate a few mouthfuls and his mum nodded happily. Then he glanced mischievously at the monkeys.
“Uh-oh,” said Zoe. “I think Jamie’s about to cause trouble again!”
The little giraffe pulled another mouthful of leaves off the tree – but this time, instead of eating them, he swung his long neck towards the monkeys and let go of the leaves. They scattered all over the path, and some flew over the fence and into the monkeys’ enclosure – just where
Zoe had finished sweeping up! “Naughty Jamie!” said Zoe, as the little giraffe burst into giggles.
“Look, Zoe! The monkeys!” cried Meep.
Zoe looked up at the treetops, where the monkeys were still perched. They were whispering and chattering excitedly to one another. Then one of them – a cheeky-looking capuchin monkey – grabbed a banana from a wooden platform, where Annie usually left food for them. He flung the banana as hard as he could, over the path – and into the giraffe enclosure, where it splattered on the ground!
“Food fight!” squealed Meep, bouncing up and down.
Zoe gasped as all the monkeys grabbed whatever food they could find and began throwing it around, squawking and hooting happily. She managed to duck just in time as a banana went whizzing past her head. In no time at all there were soggy bits of fruit and messy peanuts all over the enclosure and the path outside.
“Oh no,” sighed Annie, staring at the mess. “And after all our hard work, Zoe. We’ll have to start all over again! Those naughty, messy monkeys.”
Zoe shook her head. “It was Jamie who started it,” she said, looking over at the baby giraffe, who was almost falling over with laughter. She bit her lip. Jamie was very funny, and she was glad he was happy and settling into life at the zoo so well. But sometimes he was just a bit too cheeky!
The next day Zoe arrived home from school just as Mr Pinch decided to call a parade practice.
“The judges will be here in two days’ time,” Mr Pinch announced sternly into a loudspeaker. “We need to make sure all the animals are ready. I don’t want any of them misbehaving on the day.”
Mr Pinch ordered the zoo keepers to bring all the animals out of their enclosures, and line them up in order of size. “Smallest animals first!” he called bossily. “We should start with the pygmy shrews, and then the littlest marmosets, and then on to the monkeys.”
“What about the insects, Mr Pinch?” asked one of the keepers politely. “We have lots of very tiny ants and spiders at the zoo.”
Mr Pinch wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “Ughh! No, I don’t want any creepy-crawlies in my parade,” he said. “What if the judges don’t like them? No, it’s cute animals only!”
Zoe frowned and saw the zoo keepers do the same. Lots of people treated insects and spiders very unfairly because they looked a bit scary sometimes. She thought it was really unkind of Mr Pinch not to let them take part in the parade. But she could tell from his stern face that he wasn’t going to be argued with today!
One by one, the animals were put into a long line. Zoe couldn’t help smiling as she watched the different animals chatter happily to one another. They were excited to be making new friends with animals they never usually saw around the zoo. Maybe this parade is a good idea after all, she thought.
“Now, let’s go!” Mr Pinch barked into his loudspeaker. “I want the animals to make one full circuit aro
und the zoo in a neat, tidy and well-behaved way,” he added firmly. “Every animal must stay in line and there’s to be no running, trotting or galloping. And definitely no monkey business.” He shot the monkeys a warning stare.
With the help of the keepers – and Zoe, who whispered encouragingly to all the animals as they passed her – the parade began slowly making its way along the path. Zoe was very impressed with how well behaved the smaller animals were. “That’s brilliant! You’re all doing so well,” she told the ring-tailed lemurs as they trooped past in a neat line. “Keep up the good work!” she added as the pandas padded by. Even the mischievous panda cubs, Chi Chi and Mei Mei, were trotting along together, squeaking excitedly about the parade. “You two are behaving beautifully!” whispered Zoe, smiling at them. “Well done!”
As the parade continued, the animals got bigger and bigger – and Zoe began to hear a commotion coming from the end of the line. She glanced at Meep, whose clever ears had pricked up, listening carefully. “It sounds like laughing,” he chirped, puzzled. “But I can’t tell which animal it is. It sounds like … lots of different animals laughing at the same time!”
“Let’s go and take a look,” Zoe said.
They walked towards the very end of the parade line. Zoe saw that the zoo keepers who were supervising this part of the parade looked quite stressed and anxious. “What’s happening?” she asked one of them.
“The animals won’t walk in a straight line,” the keeper explained. “And we can’t work out why. Suddenly they all started wobbling around and making lots of noise. We’re all worried about what Mr Pinch is going to say when he sees them!”
Zoe saw what the keeper meant. As the orangutans, hippos and elephants came into view, she realised they were all stumbling from side to side – and screeching, grunting or trumpeting with laughter. Quickly she ran over to Hetty, the smallest hippo. “What’s going on, Hetty?” she whispered.
