by Adam Frost
‘Come on, Tom,’ she whispered. ‘Just ride it out.’
Tom shook off his fear and launched himself into the rest of his solo. It was the best he’d ever played it.
The audience burst into rapturous applause.
The rest of the orchestra came back in and finished the piece.
Then everyone got a standing ovation.
As they walked offstage, Freddy slapped Tom’s back.
‘You were good, Tombo,’ he said, ‘but I was the best.’
There was a voice behind them.
‘Frederick Finch,’ Mrs Purcell said, ‘I’d like a word with you.’
‘Man!’ Freddy protested. ‘What did I do THIS time?’
Tom put his trumpet back in its case and said goodbye to the rest of his friends before going over to greet his parents.
Mr and Mrs Nightingale gave him a huge hug. Grandad barked, ‘Bravo!’
They walked out of the hall together.
Sophie said quietly, ‘Well done, Tom. Shaurya would be proud of you.’
‘To be honest,’ said Tom, ‘I pretended to BE Shaurya. I imagined the trumpet was my trunk!’
Sophie smiled.
‘I became half-elephant,’ said Tom.
‘Only half?’
‘OK, three-quarters,’ said Tom. He held his trumpet to his lips and blew as hard as he could.
His parents twisted round in surprise.
‘Sorry,’ Tom said. ‘That’s what we elephants do when we’re excited.’
Mr and Mrs Nightingale looked at each other, smiled and shook their heads.
‘Come on then, Shaurya,’ said Mr Nightingale. ‘It’s time to hit the hay!’
Zoological Society of London
ZSL London Zoo is a very famous part of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
For almost two hundred years, we have been working tirelessly to provide hope and a home to thousands of animals.
And it’s not just the animals at ZSL’s Zoos in London and Whipsnade that we are caring for. Our conservationists are working in more than 50 countries to help protect animals in the wild.
But all of this wouldn’t be possible without your help. As a charity we rely entirely on the generosity of our supporters to continue this vital work.
By buying this book, you have made an essential contribution to help protect animals.
Thank you.
Find out more at zsl.org
Turn the page for a taster of exciting
adventures in the realm of the
Amur tiger in
Paw Prints in the Snow
by Sally Grindley
Joe and his family are in Russia on the trail of one of the
world’s rarest creatures, the beautiful Amur tiger.
Exploring a vast, freezing nature reserve, Joe comes closer
to the tigers than he ever imagined – and is drawn into a
daring mission to rescue an injured cub . . .
OUT NOW
Chapter 1
‘What’s it like putting your arm up a cow’s bottom?’ Joe Brook asked.
‘Warm and squelchy.’ Binti, his mother, grinned.
‘You wouldn’t catch me doing it.’ Joe pulled a face.
He was standing on the bottom rung of some metal fencing inside a barn on Mike Downs’s farm. His mother was the other side of the fence, dressed in her green overalls and wellington boots, her breath coiling upwards like steam from a kettle as she leant against the cow’s rear. Joe watched as she pulled her arm out and removed the long plastic glove that covered most of it.
‘It’s not much fun for the cow, either,’ she said.
‘If I was going to be a vet, I’d only want to look after small animals like cats – or wild animals like elephants, because that would be cool.’
‘So you think some of what I do is cool then, Joe?’
Binti smiled as she opened the gate and left the cow’s enclosure. Most of her work was as an international wildlife vet, but when she was at home she sometimes helped out if called upon by other vets in the area.
‘You might have to put your arm up an elephant’s bottom too, you know,’ she said.
‘What for?’
‘To find out if a female is pregnant, or perhaps to check for digestive problems. Pretty much the same as for a cow.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t mind so much if it was an elephant, because they’re exciting and I’m half Tanzanian. Cows are boring.’
‘Not to a bull they’re not.’ Binti laughed as she scrubbed her hands. ‘Come on, it’s dinner time.’
‘I’m glad Dad does the cooking, knowing where your hands have just been.’ Joe smirked.
His mother cuffed him gently.
Joe shivered as they left the barn. It had become dark and very chilly. They headed back towards the farmhouse, where Mike Downs greeted them on the doorstep. Through a window Joe could see a fire burning brightly and wished he were sitting in front of it.
‘I can’t find anything abnormal, Mike,’ said Binti, ‘but I’ll send a stool sample off to the lab and see if they come up with anything. In the meantime, just keep an eye on her and give me a call if you’re at all worried.’
‘Thanks, Binti. I’ll try not to disturb your weekend any further.’
‘It’s all part of the job, Mike. We can’t expect animals to fall sick only on weekdays.’
‘Are you going to follow in your mum’s footsteps when you’re older, young man?’ The farmer winked at Joe.
‘My son doesn’t like getting his hands dirty, do you, Joe?’ Binti smiled. ‘Right, we ought to make a move. Bye, Mike.’
She linked her arm through Joe’s. They walked quickly over to their four-by-four and clambered in.
‘Turn the heating up, Mum,’ said Joe. ‘It’s got really cold.’
Binti switched on the engine and played with the dials. ‘You’ll have to get used to the cold where we’re going,’ she said, shooting him a glance to watch his reaction.
Joe looked puzzled. ‘We’re going home for dinner, aren’t we?’
‘But what about when you break up for half-term?’ Binti questioned.
Joe detected a whiff of excitement. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘We’re going to Antarctica!’
‘Not quite,’ said Binti. ‘But we are going to Russia.’
‘Russia?’ Joe wasn’t sure how to react. ‘Why are we going to Russia?’
‘I’m going to help train some of the young vets over there in how to anaesthetize tigers.’
‘But there aren’t any tigers in Russia, are there?’ said Joe. ‘I thought they were all in India and Sumatra.’
‘There are Amur tigers in Russia. They’re the biggest, and there are very few left.’
Russia had sounded like a boring place to spend half-term – until Binti mentioned tigers. Now Joe couldn’t think of anything better, even if it was going to be cold . . .
Also by Adam Frost
Stop! There’s a Snake in Your Suitcase!
More animal adventures with the
Nightingale family coming soon!
All of the animal facts in this story are true.
Everything else is fiction. Any connection
to any events that have taken place in London
Zoo is purely coincidental.
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney
First published in Great Britain in September 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Manufactured and supplied under licence from the Zoological Society of London
Text copyright © Adam Frost 2012
Illustrations copyright © Mark Chambers 2012
The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise
make available this publ
ication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying,
printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781408829554
www.storiesfromthezoo.com
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