The Super Sloth

by Amelia Cobb

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” said Meep, rubbing his eyes.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just want to get up early so I can go and see Sabina before school. I want to find out more about sloths and what it’s like to live in the real rainforest. Come on!” Zoe sprang up from the bed and began pulling on her school uniform.

  “But I was having a lovely dream about a giant blueberry called Boo-Boo,” grumbled Meep, closing his eyes again.

  Zoe giggled. Even when he was asleep, Meep was always thinking about food!

  “I promise I’ll get you blueberries for breakfast,” she said as she put on her shoes.

  “Will one of them be called Boo-Boo?” asked Meep, opening one eye.

  “Yes, we can call one of them Boo-Boo,” smiled Zoe. “We can take them with us to the dome and you can have breakfast with the other animals.”

  “OK then.” Meep opened his other eye and stretched. He hopped from the bed and scrambled on to Zoe’s shoulder.

  Downstairs in the kitchen Lucy was still in her dressing gown, filling up the kettle.

  “Goodness, you’re up very early,” she said when she saw Zoe and Meep.

  “Too early,” Meep grumbled in Zoe’s ear.

  “Is it OK if I go to the dome before school to see Sabina?” asked Zoe.

  Lucy glanced at the clock on the wall. “OK, but don’t stay too long. You don’t want to be late for school.”

  “I won’t. I’ll take my breakfast with me and have it there.” Zoe put some blueberries and bananas in a container, grabbed a carton of fruit juice from the fridge and headed for the door.

  Outside, the spring sunshine was just starting to rise, making the leaves on the trees shiny green. The air was a bit chilly but Zoe was running way too fast to feel the cold.

  “Morning, Shadow!” she called as she raced past the wolf enclosure.

  Shadow, the grey wolf, barked a greeting.

  “I can’t stop and chat now,” called Zoe. “I’m in a bit of a rush. There’s a new animal in the Rainforest Dome to get to know. A sloth called Sabina!”

  Shadow yelped.

  “Thanks, Shadow. I’ll tell her you said hello,” replied Zoe.

  Next, she raced past the sea otter enclosure, where Sasha and her brothers and sisters were playing. When they saw Zoe and Meep they squeaked a greeting.

  “Morning! Can’t stop, I’m in a rush,” cried Zoe.

  “Ever since they built the dome you’re always in a rush,” said Meep, wrapping his furry arms tightly around her neck. “Rush, rush, rush, rush!”

  Zoe laughed. “That’s because there’s been so much to do to get it ready. Don’t worry, it’ll quieten down once it’s opened.”

  When they got to the dome, Zoe used her paw-print pendant to open the door. It was so early, Valeria wasn’t even there yet. Zoe breathed in the warm air and took off her coat. Tammie the tamandua trundled up to Zoe and snuffled around her legs.

  “Are you hungry?” Zoe asked the little anteater.

  “I’m hungry!” squeaked Meep.

  “You’re always hungry!” laughed Zoe, peeling one of the bananas and handing it to him. Then she turned back to Tammie. “I’ll get you some food as soon as Valeria gets here,” she said. “I just need to check on Sabina first.”

  Zoe headed over to the stream and looked up into the palm tree where she’d left her, but Sabina wasn’t there. Zoe frowned. She’d thought the little sloth would still be fast asleep! Where could she be? She walked alongside the stream, looking up into the trees. High in the branches, a bright-green toucan squawked and the trumpeter birds fluffed up their feathers, but there was still no sign of the little sloth.

  A marmoset monkey scampered by, chattering to itself excitedly. Zoe watched as it ran to the end of the bank. Then she saw why it was so excited. At the far end of the stream Sabina was slowly making her way up a tree trunk, with a baby marmoset clinging to her back!

  “Look, Meep,” she cried, pointing to the funny sight.

  Meep looked up from his banana and grinned. But before Zoe could go over and chat to Sabina, Valeria arrived.

  “Good morning, Zoe! You’re here bright and early!”

  “I wanted to check on Sabina before I went to school,” said Zoe. “Look, she’s carrying a baby marmoset!”

  Valeria smiled. “Ah yes, I’ve seen sloths do this in the rainforest before. They’re very sociable creatures – when they’re not asleep! Now, would you like to help me peel some vegetables for the animals’ breakfast?” continued Valeria.

  “Yes, please!” Zoe followed Valeria into the keeper’s office.

  Valeria took some carrots from a fridge in the corner and handed them to Zoe with a vegetable peeler. Valeria started preparing some leafy vegetables and Meep sat in the corner munching on his blueberries. Zoe began to peel the carrots. She hoped she’d have time to feed Sabina before she had to go to school.

  Once the carrots were ready Zoe took one of them back to the stream, looking for Sabina. The little sloth was now curled up on the floor next to a bush, fast asleep.

  “That’s funny,” Zoe said to Meep. “I thought sloths only slept in trees.”

  “Maybe she got arm-ache from all that hanging,” suggested Meep.

  Zoe wished Sabina was still awake. She would have loved to have fed her breakfast and found out how her first night had been.

  “Zoe, it’s time to go!”

  Zoe turned to see Lucy heading into the dome, carrying her school bag.

  “OK, Mum,” Zoe called back. “See you later, Sabina,” she whispered to the sleeping sloth, leaving the carrot on the ground next to her.

  By the time Zoe got to school she felt really tired. She sat down at the table with her friends Nicola and Jack and put her hand over her mouth to hide a yawn. The first lesson of the day was science.

  “I hope your projects are all coming along well,” said Miss Hawkins as she handed out their science books. “Don’t forget there’s only a few days left before they’re due in.”

  Zoe’s heart sank. She still hadn’t started her project!

  “I’ve almost finished my project,” said Jack. “I’ve made a chart of all the plants growing in the park.”

  “I’ve taken photos of the flowers in my back garden and made them into a collage,” said Nicola.

  Zoe’s heart sank even further. Her friends’ projects sounded great. She wished she’d almost finished hers too, but with all the work getting the Rainforest Dome ready she just hadn’t had the time.

  Miss Hawkins drew a flower on the whiteboard, beneath a bright-yellow sun. “Today we’re going to look at how plants provide us with oxygen,” she said. “And why do we need oxygen?”

  Jack put up his hand.

  “Yes, Jack?”

  “To breathe?”

  “That’s right.” Miss Hawkins smiled at him. “If it weren’t for plants we would run out of oxygen to breathe.”

  As Miss Hawkins started talking about oxygen, Zoe’s mind drifted back to the Rescue Zoo and all of the cool plants in the dome. She couldn’t wait to talk to Sabina again and find out more about the real rainforest. She wondered if Sabina was still asleep.

  At break time she told Nicola and Jack all about the latest arrival to the zoo.

  “I wish I could be a sloth and sleep all the time,” said Jack.

  “I wish I was able to sleep hanging from a tree!” Nicola grinned. “I can’t wait till we can come and see the Rainforest Dome.”

  “I can’t wait for you to see it too,” replied Zoe, grinning as she thought about the Grand Opening. The mayor was coming to officially open the Rainforest Dome, and a photographer and a journalist from the local paper would be there too. It was going to be so much fun!

  Chapter Four

  Sabina’s Strange Sleep

  As soon as the bell rang for home-time, Zoe raced from the classroom and out into the playground. Lucy was waiting for her by the gate, holding two bags of shopping.

  “Hi, Mum. Ha
ve you been to the dome today? Is it nearly ready for the Grand Opening? Did you see Sabina?”

  “Whoa, slow down, Zoe!” laughed Lucy. “How was school?”

  “OK. Can I go to the dome when we get back? I want to see if Sabina’s awake.”

  “What about your school project?” asked Lucy. “There’s only a couple of days left to do it.”

  “I know. I’ll work on it after tea, I promise.”

  As they set off back home Lucy started chatting to one of the other mums, so Zoe raced on ahead. She really hoped Sabina would be awake. She couldn’t wait to see her!

  As usual, Meep was waiting for her when she got to the zoo, perched on the carving of a hot-air balloon on top of the huge gates. The balloon looked like the real hot-air balloon that belonged to Great-Uncle Horace. Along with his motorbike it was one of his favourite ways to travel the world!

  “Hello, Meep,” Zoe whispered to the little lemur. Zoe called back to Lucy, who was still chatting with one of the other mums. “I’m just going to go to the dome.”

  “OK, but don’t be too long,” replied Lucy.

  “Look, Zoe,” chattered Meep as he scampered along the gate and hung upside down from the carving of a branch. “Guess who I’m pretending to be.”

  But Zoe had already hurried through the gates and into the zoo. She wanted to get to the dome as soon as possible. She had to try and catch Sabina while she was awake. There were so many things she wanted to ask her!

  “Zoe!” called Meep as he scampered along the footpath after her. “You didn’t see who I was pretending to be.”

  “Sorry, Meep,” replied Zoe. “I just really want to get to the dome to have a proper chat with Sabina.” Zoe raced around the corner of the café at top speed … and bumped straight into Mr Pinch, almost knocking him over! Her heart sank. Mr Pinch was the manager of the Rescue Zoo and he was usually in a bad mood.

  “What is going on?” Mr Pinch frowned down at Zoe. “Is the zoo on fire?”

  Zoe shook her head.

  “Has an alien spaceship landed on the gift shop?”

  Zoe giggled. “No.”

  “Then why the big rush?”

  “I need to get to the Rainforest Dome to see Sabina.”

  Mr Pinch sighed. “And who, might I ask, is Sabina?”

  “She’s a sloth. Great-Uncle Horace rescued her from Costa Rica. She’s really cute but the trouble is, she’s not awake very often. Sloths need fifteen to twenty hours sleep every day,” explained Zoe.

  “If you ask me, that makes her a bit lazy.” Mr Pinch frowned. “Well, no running, please. This is a zoo, not a racetrack.”

  “Sorry, Mr Pinch.” Zoe picked Meep up and carried on along the path, walking as fast as her legs could go.

  When she got to the dome she pressed her silver paw-print pendant to the panel by the door and stepped inside. The air in the dome was hot and steamy as usual. But Zoe felt a bit shivery, so she kept her coat on.

  “Hi, Zoe!” called Valeria. She was standing by the hollowed tree stump where Tammie slept. “Come and take a look at this.”

  Zoe hurried over. Sabina was curled on the floor next to the tree stump, fast asleep.

  “What’s she doing there?” asked Zoe. “She went to sleep on the ground by a bush this morning. I thought sloths always slept in trees.”

  “I don’t know.” Valeria shrugged. “I found her there just now.”

  Zoe peered inside the hollow tree stump. Tammie was sitting inside, munching on a carrot. When she saw Zoe she snuffled hello.

  “I can’t believe she’s asleep again,” said Zoe, looking at Sabina with a sigh. She loved getting to know all the animals in the zoo, but it was going to be hard to get to know Sabina if she was asleep all the time!

  “Never mind,” said Valeria. “I have a fun job you can help me with.”

  Zoe grinned at her excitedly. “What is it?”

  “I need to turn on the mist.”

  While Meep scampered off to play with the monkeys, Zoe followed Valeria into the keeper’s office.

  Valeria showed Zoe a monitor. “This records the temperature and humidity levels inside the dome,” she explained.

  “What does humidity mean?” asked Zoe.

  “It means the amount of water in the atmosphere,” explained Valeria. “There is a lot of water in the atmosphere in the rainforest, so we need to recreate it in our dome with the sprinklers.” She showed Zoe which button to press, then they went back into the dome. Plumes of mist were coming through the sprinklers in the roof, filling the dome with steam.

  “Wow, that’s so cool!” exclaimed Zoe, then on the other side of the stream she spotted some men digging holes by the trees.

  “What are they doing?” asked Zoe.

  “They are planting lianas,” replied Valeria. “Lianas are tropical vines that grow around trees. Eventually they will grow right to the top of the trees and make bridges between them for the monkeys to run across.”

  Zoe smiled as she pictured the monkeys running across bridges of vines. It sounded like a lot of fun!

  While Valeria went back to the office, Zoe walked over to the stream with Meep close behind her. She looked up into the palm tree where the trumpeter chick was nesting. Its mum and dad were foraging on the floor for some food. When they saw Zoe they bellowed a greeting.

  “Lovely to see you too,” replied Zoe, her ears ringing. Trumpeters were the loudest birds she’d ever heard!

  Zoe went back over to Tammie’s tree house. Sabina was still on the floor and looked like she’d just woken up. She didn’t look very comfortable!

  Zoe remembered what Great-Uncle Horace had said about sloths not being able to move well on the ground. “I’ll put you back in your nice tree,” she smiled, picking Sabina up.

  The little sloth gave a loud, slow squeak. She spoke so slowly and sleepily it was hard for Zoe to understand!

  “Do you want something to eat?” asked Zoe, placing her carefully in the palm tree. “I can go and get you something if you like.”

  Sabina gave another squeak.

  “What’s she saying?” asked Meep.

  “I’m not sure.” Zoe frowned. “It sounds like ‘day’.” She stroked Sabina. “Yes, it’s daytime. I’ll go and get you some food!”

  Zoe raced over to the office and grabbed a couple of peeled carrots from the fridge. Then she raced back to the palm tree.

  Sabina was now hanging upside down from the branch. Zoe stood beneath her and held the carrot up to Sabina’s mouth.

  Sabina smiled and slowly squeaked.

  “What’s she saying?” asked Meep.

  “I’m not sure,” replied Zoe. “Something beginning with y.”

  “Yellow?” suggested Meep. “Yes? Yawn?”

  Zoe listened more carefully. “No, she’s saying yum.” She gave Sabina some more carrot.

  “Yum yum yum!” chattered Meep, jumping up and down. “When’s it time for my tea, Zoe?”

  “Soon,” replied Zoe. “Here, have this as a snack for now.” She handed Meep the other carrot.

  Meep held the carrot in his front paws and took a big bite. “I wish I could eat upside down like Sabina.”

  “I think you might get tummy ache if you did,” grinned Zoe.

  Just as Sabina finished her carrot, Lucy came into the dome. “Tea’s ready, Zoe,” she called.

  “OK, Mum.” Zoe stroked Sabina on the head. “I’ll come and see you again tomorrow,” she whispered in the sloth’s ear.

  Sabina gave her a sleepy smile.

  Zoe picked up Meep and went over to join her mum.

  It was only when they got back to the cottage that she realised she hadn’t asked Sabina what she was doing sleeping on the floor instead of her tree. She’d just have to ask her tomorrow.

  Chapter Five

  Sneezes and School

  The next day when Zoe woke up, she felt really cold, even though she was wearing her fleecy zebra pyjamas. Her throat felt scratchy and dry too. I hope I’m no
t getting poorly, she thought to herself as she sat up in bed. She couldn’t get ill this week – not when it was the opening of the dome!

  “Morning, Zoe!” chattered Meep as he leapt up from his cushion at the end of the bed.

  “Morning … atishoo!” Zoe sneezed loudly.

  “My name isn’t Atishoo!” chirped Meep.

  “I know,” Zoe sniffed. “I was sneezing. Come on, let’s get up and go to the dome.” Hopefully, if Sabina was awake she’d get a chance to have a proper chat to her this time. And she could help to feed all the other rainforest creatures too. She quickly put on her school uniform and went downstairs.

  “Morning, love,” said Lucy as Zoe went into the kitchen. “Would you like some toast?”

  “Yes, please. But would it be OK to take it to the dome?”

  “I don’t know.” Lucy frowned. “You’re looking a bit pale. I think you might have been overdoing it recently. Have a proper breakfast here this morning and go to the dome after school.”

  “But…” Zoe felt a tingling in her nose. “Atishoo!”

  “Oh dear. I hope you’re not coming down with a cold.” Lucy popped some bread in the toaster and placed a bowl of berries on the table for Meep.

  “I’m not. It was just a sneeze,” said Zoe, but the scratchy feeling in her throat was getting worse.

  “You can see Sabina and the other animals in the dome after school,” said Lucy firmly, pouring her a glass of juice.

  Zoe sat down at the table and sighed. She wanted to find out why Sabina had been sleeping by Tammie’s tree stump, and what the rainforest was like in Costa Rica, and what she thought of the dome … and so many other things!

  “So how are you getting on with your project, Zoe?” Miss Hawkins asked later, as the class were about to go for lunch.

  “OK,” replied Zoe.

  “What kind of plants are you doing it on?”

  “Oh – er – I haven’t quite decided yet,” stammered Zoe.