The Super Sloth

by Amelia Cobb

  Zoe stepped closer. A little round face peered sleepily over the top of the crate. The animal had brown fur with big black patches around its eyes and its mouth was curled into a smile. “It’s a sloth!” cried Zoe.

  Chapter One

  The Rainforest Dome

  Zoe Parker raced along the red-brick path through the Rescue Zoo as fast as her legs could carry her. Meep, a tiny mouse lemur, scampered beside her, his long tail bobbing up and down. As they ran past the penguin enclosure two of the penguins waddled out of the water to greet them, their black feathers shiny and wet.

  “Hello, Pip! Hello, Percy!” called Zoe. “Sorry we can’t stop and chat but we’re very busy.”

  “Busy, busy, busy!” agreed Meep.

  Zoe giggled and picked the little lemur up and placed him on her shoulder. “There you are, Meep. It’ll be quicker if I carry you!”

  Zoe had a very special secret. On her sixth birthday she had realised that she could talk to the animals! She could understand every word they said, and they understood her. No one else knew, not even Zoe’s mum or Great-Uncle Horace. Zoe was always careful not to chat to her animal friends when anyone else was close by.

  A cool breeze suddenly blew up the path and Meep snuggled closer to Zoe.

  “Don’t worry,” said Zoe. “You’ll soon be nice and warm.”

  Up ahead, some visitors to the zoo were gathered in front of the giraffe enclosure, watching as Jewel and her son Jamie trotted down to the stream for a drink of water. But Zoe didn’t have time to stop and say hello.

  Zoe wasn’t a visitor to the zoo. She lived there in a cottage with her mum Lucy, who was the zoo vet. Meep lived with them too. The Rescue Zoo had been started by Zoe’s Great-Uncle Horace, who was a world-famous explorer and animal expert. He’d created the zoo as a safe place for animals to live if they were lost, hurt or endangered.

  As the path wound away from the giraffe enclosure, a huge glass dome came into view in the field at the back of the zoo. It looked like a giant bowl that had been placed upside down on the grass.

  Zoe’s heart pounded with excitement. The Rainforest Dome was the newest enclosure at the Rescue Zoo. It was going to be opening for visitors at the weekend in a special ceremony, and the zoo staff had been very busy getting the dome ready. For the past few weeks Zoe had spent every spare moment of her time helping them, rushing there each day after school.

  As Zoe got closer to the dome, she could hear the faint squawks of the parakeets and the screeches and chattering of the monkeys inside. Meep hopped down from her shoulder and scampered over to the entrance. He was just as excited as Zoe about the new dome.

  When Zoe got to the entrance she felt for the silver pendant around her neck. It was in the shape of a paw-print. It had been a birthday present from Great-Uncle Horace and it opened the doors to all the enclosures. She pressed the silver charm to a panel and the dome door swung open. Meep raced inside and as Zoe followed him hot, steamy air wrapped around her. She took off her coat.

  “It’s so hot!” complained Meep.

  “It has to be,” replied Zoe. “It’s so all the animals from the rainforest will feel at home.” She heard a loud squawk and looked up. High above them, a couple of colourful parakeets were swooping in and out of the branches of the palm trees.

  “Hello, Zoe, how was school?”

  The cheerful voice came from the keeper’s office. It was Valeria, the head keeper at the Rainforest Dome. She looked after all of the animals who lived there. Valeria was wearing her uniform of Rescue Zoo T-shirt and shorts, and her long dark hair was tied back in a plait. Valeria was from Venezuela, a country in South America where they had real rainforests!

  “Hi, Valeria. School was good, thanks,” replied Zoe. “Have the tamarins arrived? Did the trumpeter birds settle in? Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Valeria laughed. “Slow down, Zoe. One question at a time.” She came over carrying a box of coconuts. “Yes, the emperor tamarin monkeys were moved from their old enclosure this morning. They’re over in the trees on the other side of the stream.” She pointed across the wide stream that ran through the centre of the dome. Some monkeys were leaping through the top branches of the tall trees. Their fur was grey and black, apart from long white strands that drooped past their mouths like moustaches.

  “They look like they’re having a lot of fun,” said Zoe as the monkeys chatted happily.

  “They are,” replied Valeria. “Tamarins are one of the friendliest species of monkeys in the world. They love to play.” She smiled as one of the monkeys leapt on another’s back. “And to answer your second question, the trumpeter birds have settled in really well. Their chick is nesting in the top of that palm tree.” She pointed to one of the trees that had been planted next to the stream the day before. The mum and dad were strutting around on the ground beneath the tree looking for food. The feathers on their round bodies were mostly black, apart from splashes of shiny blue on their neck and wings.

  The mum opened her large beak and let out a honking sound. Zoe grinned. She could see how they’d got their name. They really were as loud as trumpets! Great-Uncle Horace had told Zoe that some people in South America even used trumpeter birds to guard their houses because their warning cry was so noisy.

  “And to answer your last question,” continued Valeria. “Yes, there is something you can do to help me! We need to hang these coconuts from the trees for the monkeys.” She took some coconuts from the box. They were attached to pieces of rope.

  Zoe nodded and grinned. The monkeys loved chewing on coconuts to get to the sweet flesh inside.

  “Can you hang some from the trees on this side of the stream and I’ll do the other?” said Valeria.

  “Of course.” Zoe took the coconuts from her.

  Valeria fetched a crate from the store room for Zoe to stand on so she could reach the branches, then Zoe took the rest of the coconuts over to the other side of the stream. As soon as Valeria had gone, Tammie the southern tamandua trundled past. When she saw Zoe, the little anteater made a snuffling noise to greet her.

  “Hello, Tammie,” smiled Zoe, crouching down to stroke her. Tammie was from Venezuela like Valeria. Her fur was brown, apart from the area around her chest, which was black and made her look as if she was wearing a vest. “Are you enjoying living in the Rainforest Dome?”

  Tammie nodded and grunted.

  Zoe smiled. “Good.”

  Like most of the other animals in the dome, Tammie had been moved there from another enclosure in the zoo. As Zoe hung a coconut from a branch she felt so happy. She couldn’t wait until the dome’s Grand Opening. There was less than a week to go now and most of the trees had been planted and most of the animals had arrived.

  Just then Zoe heard the faint roaring of an engine coming from outside. Meep stood up straight, his ears pointing upright. A parakeet flying around the roof of the dome began to squawk with excitement. Soon all of the other birds were joining in and the monkeys shrieked and hooted.

  The noise of the engine got louder. It sounded like a motorbike … and Zoe could only think of one person who would ride their motorbike right into the Rescue Zoo. Great-Uncle Horace! But he was on a trip to Costa Rica and wasn’t due back until the weekend.

  Zoe raced over to the door with Meep scampering behind her and they hurried outside. It was Great-Uncle Horace! He was parking his motorbike on a patch of grass beside the dome. His helmet and motorbike were covered in stickers from all the exciting places he’d travelled to.

  The air outside was filled with the sound of animals chirping, shrieking and roaring with excitement. They all loved it when Great-Uncle Horace came home. And so did Zoe!

  A beautiful bright-blue bird fluttered from the sidecar of his bike a
nd perched on the handlebars. It was Kiki, Great-Uncle Horace’s hyacinth macaw. She went everywhere with him.

  “Zoe! How are you?” called Great-Uncle Horace as he took off his goggles.

  “Great-Uncle Horace!” Zoe exclaimed, running over to give him a big hug. “What are you doing back so soon?”

  “I have a new arrival for the dome,” he replied. “She’s from Costa Rica.”

  Just then Zoe’s mum Lucy appeared, running up the path towards them. “Uncle Horace!” she cried, hugging him.

  “He has a new animal for the Rainforest Dome,” Zoe told her.

  They both watched as Great-Uncle Horace took a crate from the sidecar and slowly opened the lid. “I’m not sure if she’ll be awake,” he said, peering inside. “This is one very sleepy little animal!”

  Zoe stepped closer. What could it be?

  A little round face peered sleepily over the top of the crate. Its fur was brown, with big black patches around its eyes and its mouth was curled into a smile.

  “It’s a sloth!” cried Zoe.

  Chapter Two

  A Sleepy Sloth

  “A sloth indeed,” replied Great-Uncle Horace, lifting the animal from the crate. “She’s a three-toed sloth, to be precise.”

  “Three-toed?” echoed Zoe as she stroked the sloth on top of her head. She was quite small and her fur was really soft. The sloth smiled up at Zoe sleepily.

  “Yes,” replied Great-Uncle Horace. “There are two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths. Although, actually, all sloths have three toes.”

  Zoe looked at him, confused.

  “They really should be called three-fingered, see.” Great-Uncle Horace gently picked up one of the sloth’s front paws. Three long claws curved out from it.

  “Her claws are so long!” exclaimed Zoe.

  “All the better for hanging from trees,” he chuckled. “Do you want to hold her?”

  “Yes, please!”

  Great-Uncle Horace passed the sloth to Zoe. The sloth nestled her sleepy head against Zoe and closed her eyes. She was lovely and warm!

  “She’s around one year old,” said Great-Uncle Horace as Kiki fluttered from the motorbike and perched on his shoulder. “Sadly, her mother was killed by hunters before she learned how to survive in the wild, so this little one will be a lot safer here with us.”

  “Poor thing,” said Lucy sadly. “Still, she looks to be in good condition, thank goodness.”

  Zoe stroked the sloth’s soft fur. She couldn’t wait for them to be alone so she could talk to the zoo’s newest member properly and find out more about her. Sloths were one of her favourite animals but she didn’t really know much about them, apart from that they liked to sleep a lot!

  The sloth opened her eyes again.

  “She’s probably hungry after our journey,” said Great-Uncle Horace. “Let’s go and get her something to eat.”

  Zoe smiled and they all went into the dome, with Meep scampering along beside them.

  “What do sloths eat?” asked Zoe as they followed the path inside the dome.

  “Well, when they’re in the wild, they tend to eat leaves and plants,” replied Great-Uncle Horace.

  “But we can give her fruit and vegetables too,” added Lucy.

  The sloth slowly stretched out one paw.

  “She looks so sleepy,” said Zoe.

  “Yes, sloths do need a lot of sleep,” said Great-Uncle Horace. “They’re actually one of the sleepiest of all the animals. They can sleep for fifteen to twenty hours a day.”

  “But that’s nearly all day and all night!” exclaimed Zoe. She couldn’t imagine sleeping for so long. She sat down on a bench by the stream so that the sloth could get a good look at her new home.

  “Let’s go and ask Valeria for some sloth snacks!” Great-Uncle Horace said to Lucy.

  As soon as they’d gone Zoe cuddled the sloth closer to her. At last she could talk to the sloth and find out all about her!

  “Hello, my name’s Zoe,” she whispered. “What’s your name?” Meep hopped up on to the bench next to them and chattered hello.

  The sloth gave some long squeaks. She spoke so slowly it took Zoe a while to understand what she was trying to say. “Your name is Sabina?”

  The sloth slowly squeaked again.

  “Welcome to the Rescue Zoo. I’m really sorry you lost your mum,” said Zoe. “But you’ll be safe here and you’ll make lots of new friends.”

  “Like me!” exclaimed Meep.

  “Yes, and me,” said Zoe.

  Sabina smiled and looked around the dome.

  “Do you like it in here?” asked Zoe. “It’s just like the rainforest so hopefully you’ll feel at home.”

  She watched the sloth carefully. She really hoped Sabina liked the dome. Zoe knew all the visitors to the zoo would be super-excited to see a sloth! Sabina slowly nodded her head and gave another sleepy smile. Zoe sighed with relief.

  Just then Great-Uncle Horace and Lucy came back with Valeria. The keeper was holding a plastic container of thinly sliced vegetables.

  “Why don’t you try feeding her some butternut squash?” she said, handing Zoe a thin slice.

  Zoe held the butternut squash to Sabina’s mouth and the little sloth began to nibble.

  “Where do sloths sleep?” asked Zoe.

  “In trees,” replied Great-Uncle Horace. “Hanging from the branches, usually.”

  “They hang from branches even when they’re fast asleep?” exclaimed Zoe. “Don’t they fall out?”

  Great-Uncle Horace shook his head. “No, their extra-long claws grip to the branches and keep them safe.”

  Zoe smiled. Sloths were so cool! She couldn’t wait until she was alone with Sabina again and could find out more about her.

  All around the dome the animals chattered and chirped. It was getting dark outside now and twinkling spotlights had come on all around the dome. Once Sabina had finished the slice of butternut squash she gave a giant yawn.

  “I think she’s tired,” said Zoe.

  “Would you like to find her a tree to sleep in?” asked Valeria.

  “Yes, please!” exclaimed Zoe.

  They walked slowly down to the stream. The trumpeter birds squawked a greeting from the top of their tree. There was another palm tree next to theirs, a little closer to the water.

  “How about this one?” said Zoe. “It’s got a lovely view of the stream.”

  Valeria nodded. “Yes, this looks like the perfect home.”

  Carefully, Zoe lifted the little sloth on to one of the lowest branches.

  Slowly, using her claws to help her, Sabina clambered higher. Then, hanging from a branch by one arm, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

  Meep gazed up at her, his golden eyes wide.

  Zoe heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Great-Uncle Horace and her mum.

  “Look,” whispered Zoe. “Sabina’s already asleep.”

  “You do choose some lovely names for the animals, Zoe,” said Lucy.

  Zoe grinned. Of course, her mum didn’t know that Sabina had told Zoe her name!

  “I chose this tree for her,” Zoe said to Great-Uncle Horace. “I thought it would be nice for her to be close to the water.”

  “Good work, Zoe!” replied Great-Uncle Horace, and Zoe beamed with pride. She wanted to be a zookeeper when she grew up so she loved helping the animals any way she could.

  “Do you think she’ll sleep for fifteen hours?” asked Zoe.

  Lucy laughed. “Maybe! But, speaking of sleep, we’d better get back home before it gets too late. Don’t forget you’ve got to work on your school project.”

  Zoe’s class had been asked to study the plants and trees in their garden or local park and present their findings to the rest of the class. The trouble was, Zoe had been so busy helping get the Rainforest Dome ready that she hadn’t even started her project! She wasn’t too worried though, as she had till the end of the week to get it done.

  Zoe whispered good night to S
abina, then scooped Meep into her arms and followed her mum and Great-Uncle Horace outside.

  The sun had now set and the dome looked beautiful, lit up against the darkening sky. As they passed the giraffe enclosure Jewel stretched her long neck over the fence to say hello.

  Zoe patted her on the head. “Good night, Jewel,” she whispered.

  When they got back to the cottage Zoe went straight to her bedroom to start work on her project while Lucy and Great-Uncle Horace made dinner. Zoe had borrowed Lucy’s laptop to do some research on the plants that grew in her garden.

  Zoe stared at the screen blankly. Looking at pictures of normal plants and flowers seemed a bit boring compared to being in the Rainforest Dome!

  Meep sprung on to the door handle and up on to the peg on Zoe’s door.

  “Look, Zoe, I’m sleeping like a sloth,” he called, shutting his eyes and hanging from the peg by one paw.

  Zoe giggled. “It doesn’t look very comfortable.”

  “It isn’t!” Meep leapt down and joined her on the bed. “I’m glad I don’t have to sleep like a sloth,” he said.

  Zoe grinned and closed her mum’s laptop. She was a bit too tired to work on her project tonight. She was glad she didn’t have to sleep like a sloth too … but she was very happy one had come to live at the zoo!

  Chapter Three

  A Busy Day

  The next day Zoe woke up early, before the elephants trumpeted their cheery morning greeting. The first thing she thought about was the new dome. She wondered how Sabina had slept.

  Zoe grinned as she remembered what Great-Uncle Horace had said about sloths sleeping for fifteen to twenty hours a day. The little sloth was probably still fast asleep!

  “Wake up, Meep!” she said, gently nudging the little mouse lemur, who was also fast asleep at the foot of her bed.