The Happy Hippo

by Amelia Cobb

  The little hippo had spotted the pool of slurpy mud at the edge of the enclosure. He jumped right in, rolling around happily and splashing mud everywhere!

  Chapter One

  Feathered Friends

  Zoe Parker scooped up another handful of sunflower seeds and scattered them on the ground by her feet. They made a gentle pattering sound as they landed on the grass. “Breakfast time!” she called, and smiled as a flock of colourful birds fluttered down from the trees around her and began to peck eagerly at the seeds.

  It was a sunny Saturday morning and Zoe was helping Alison, the bird keeper at the Rescue Zoo. They were in a huge enclosure, full of leafy trees and winding streams, where more than thirty different types of bird lived. Zoe and Alison had already given the hummingbirds, the toucans and the parakeets their breakfast. Now they had reached the lovebirds and the macaws, which were some of the brightest, prettiest birds at the zoo – and some of Zoe’s favourites!

  Meep was there too – although, Zoe thought with a grin, he wasn’t really being that helpful. Meep was Zoe’s best animal friend. He was a tiny grey mouse lemur, with soft fur, a long curly tail and big golden eyes. Meep also had a huge appetite, and Zoe realised that he was eating some of the birds’ breakfast as she and Alison were scattering the seeds on the ground. She giggled as he glanced around quickly to make sure that none of the birds were watching him, then snatched up a fat sunflower seed and started nibbling on it. Cheeky little thing! she thought to herself.

  “You must be looking forward to the summer holidays!” said Alison, smiling at Zoe as she scattered handfuls of grain on to the grass. “Don’t they start next week?”

  Zoe nodded. “I can’t wait!” she told Alison. “Six whole weeks off school. I can spend every day helping with the animals!”

  Zoe wasn’t just a visitor at the Rescue Zoo. She actually lived there! Zoe’s great-uncle, Horace Higgins, was a famous animal expert and explorer, who had decided to set up a zoo for any animals he met on his travels that were in need of a safe, friendly place to live. Zoe’s mum, Lucy, was the zoo vet. Lucy and Zoe had moved into a little cottage at the edge of the zoo when Zoe was a baby, so she had grown up with animals all around her! Zoe loved animals more than anything, and wanted to be a vet herself one day. She knew how lucky she was to have such an amazing home.

  “Zoe, I’m just going to pop to the store room and grab another bag of grain,” explained Alison. “Back in a sec!”

  “OK!” replied Zoe.

  As Alison left the enclosure, Zoe heard a cross squawk behind her and turned to see what was going on.

  The mischievous little lemur was still helping himself to the birds’ breakfast – and one of the birds, a bright-green lovebird named Cyril, had spotted what was going on! With a squeak, Meep grabbed one last seed and leaped quickly on to Zoe’s shoulder just as Cyril swooped down towards him.

  “Meep, you’ve already had your own breakfast back at the cottage,” Zoe scolded her little friend gently. “These seeds and grains are for Cyril and his friends!”

  “But I’m still a bit hungry, Zoe,” explained Meep through a mouthful of food. “Besides, sunflower seeds are my favourite! As well as pumpkin seeds, bananas … oh, and blueberries, and peanuts…”

  Zoe couldn’t help giggling as Meep listed all the food he liked – which was a lot! “Well, no more now,” she told him. “And say sorry to Cyril.”

  “Sorry, Cyril,” grumbled Meep, and the lovebird fluttered his wings to show Meep that they were still friends.

  Living at the Rescue Zoo wasn’t the only unusual thing about Zoe. On her sixth birthday Zoe had found out that she had a special talent: she could talk to animals! But it was a secret, and nobody else knew – not even Zoe’s mum or Great-Uncle Horace. Zoe was always careful never to speak to any of her animal friends when other people were around.

  Just then, someone else opened the gate of the enclosure and stepped inside. “Hi, Mum!” called Zoe, waving. “Have you come to check Ruby?”

  Lucy had the same dark, wavy hair as her daughter, but she usually wore it up in a ponytail, with a stethoscope around her neck. She had her special vet bag slung over one shoulder. “Hello, love,” she called back. “Yes – I need to make sure her wing is healing properly.”

  Ruby was a scarlet macaw, with bright red, yellow and blue feathers. On a very windy day two weeks ago, a branch had snapped off a tree and fallen to the ground, catching the tip of Ruby’s wing just before it landed. Lucy had been visiting every day to have a look at it.

  Ruby was perching on a low branch this morning, and Lucy gently lifted the poorly wing and peered at it.

  “Is it getting better?” asked Zoe anxiously.

  Lucy nodded. “Luckily she didn’t break the wing – that would have been much more serious. It’s just bruised and sore. It looks like she’s on the mend though. She’ll be flying again in a week or two.”

  “Great!” said Zoe. She knew that Ruby was really missing being able to swoop around the huge enclosure with her friends. “Just in time for the summer holidays,” she added. “I should be able to come and watch her every day!”

  Lucy hesitated for a moment, before nodding again quickly. “Yes, you should,” she replied, not meeting Zoe’s eyes. “Now, I’d better get back to the zoo hospital – we’re having a delivery of medicine this morning, so I need to check that everything we’ve ordered has arrived. I’ll see you at home, OK, love?”

  “OK,” Zoe replied, but her mum was already rushing out of the enclosure, a worried expression on her face. Zoe frowned. “Meep, did you notice that?” she asked. “Mum was acting a bit strangely just then.”

  Meep looked puzzled too. “As soon as you mentioned the summer holidays she had a funny look on her face!” he chirped.

  Zoe nodded. “The same thing happened last night,” she remembered. “When I got home from school and we were having tea, I asked Mum what we were going to do over the holidays. I want to spend most of the time here at the zoo, but I was hoping one day Mum might take me to the new water park that’s just opened on the other side of town. But she changed the subject straight away!”

  Ruby squawked reassuringly at Zoe, who smiled at the macaw. “You’re right, she’s probably just busy,” Zoe replied. “But … well, she’s always busy, and she never usually acts like this.”

  Cyril fluttered over to join them and chirped curiously, wanting to help. Zoe quickly explained the situation with her mum, and Cyril thought for a moment, then squawked eagerly.

  “That’s a good idea, Cyril – I’ll just ask her what’s wrong when we’re back at the cottage later,” said Zoe. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry ab—”

  But both birds and Meep had turned to look in the same direction, and Meep’s sharp ears had pricked up. Zoe knew that meant the little lemur had heard something! Zoe listened carefully and heard a faint rumbling sound, getting louder and louder. “It might be the delivery van, coming to drop off the medicine Mum was talking about,” she said.

  But Meep was shaking his head. “I know what that sound is!” he squeaked. “It’s the Rescue Zoo bus!”

  Chapter Two

  A Muddy Mess

  Zoe’s eyes lit up at Meep’s words. “Then that means … Great-Uncle Horace is back!” she cried. “Quick, let’s go and meet him, Meep. Bye, Ruby and Cyril – see you both soon!”

  Zoe ran as fast as she could through the zoo, towards the main gates. It was still early in the morning, so the zoo hadn’t opened to visitors yet, and that meant the paths were empty. But the zoo was far from quiet! All the animals had heard the rumbling of the bus’s engine and were barking, squeaking and trumpeting excitedly about Great-Uncle Horace arriving home.

  “I can’t wait to see him, Meep!�
� said Zoe breathlessly. “He hasn’t been home for weeks!”

  “And he might have brought a new animal with him!” Meep added excitedly.

  “I hope so!” replied Zoe, grinning. Great-Uncle Horace spent most of his time exploring different parts of the world, looking for animals to help. When he came back to the Rescue Zoo, it was usually because he had found an animal that needed a home. The last time, it had been a gorgeous little wolf pup named Shadow; before that, a baby koala called Kipp. Zoe really hoped Great-Uncle Horace had brought something back to the zoo this time!

  Zoe and Meep rushed round a corner and arrived at the zoo gates just as a big yellow bus rumbled inside. “You were right, Meep!” cried Zoe, pointing to the colourful hot-air balloon that was painted on the side of the bus.

  This was the Rescue Zoo symbol. Sometimes Great-Uncle Horace travelled by motorbike or by helicopter, sometimes by bus or by the famous hot-air balloon itself – but whatever his mode of transport, it had the symbol painted on it somewhere!

  As the bus rolled to a stop, Zoe heard footsteps and excited voices behind her. All the zookeepers had realised what was going on, and were rushing to meet Great-Uncle Horace, too! Lucy had also arrived, a huge smile on her face. Everyone gathered around the bus as a familiar figure leaped out.

  Great-Uncle Horace had twinkling brown eyes and untidy white hair that stuck up at all angles. He had a battered safari hat on his head and wore a dusty safari jacket, with a compass hanging from a cord around his neck. On his shoulder perched a beautiful bird with deep-blue feathers. She was another macaw, like Ruby – but this one was very special. Kiki was a hyacinth macaw and had been Great-Uncle Horace’s companion ever since she was a tiny chick. Just like Zoe and Meep, Great-Uncle Horace and Kiki went everywhere together.

  Great-Uncle Horace beamed as he looked around the crowd. “Hello, everyone!” he cried. “It’s so good to be back! Now, where are my favourite niece and great-niece?”

  “Here!” said Zoe, squeezing through the crowd and running up to Great-Uncle Horace. She jumped into his arms and he wrapped her up in a warm hug.

  “Zoe, my dear! I’ve missed you so much,” he told her. “And here’s Lucy! I’m so happy to see you both. Kiki and I have travelled such a long way.”

  “We’ve really missed you!” Lucy told him, joining in the hug. “But where have you come from this time?”

  “And have you brought a new animal home with you?” added Zoe hopefully.

  Great-Uncle Horace chuckled. “I certainly have!” he told Zoe. “I was exploring sub-Saharan Africa when I came across this little chap. I just know you’re going to love him, Zoe.”

  Zoe and Meep exchanged an excited glance as Great-Uncle Horace called for some of the zookeepers to help lift a large wooden crate out of the back of the bus.

  “What animals come from sub-Saharan Africa, Zoe?” squeaked Meep. “And what does ‘sub-Saharan’ mean anyway?”

  “When I was looking up animals online the other day I saw those words, Meep. I think it means the part of Africa that’s underneath the Sahara desert,” Zoe whispered back. “It’s a really hot part of the world. And there are loads of different animals living there! Elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, lions, gazelles…”

  “So the new animal could be anything!” chattered Meep, his eyes wide with excitement.

  Zoe and Meep watched as the crate was lifted out of the bus and placed gently on the ground. There were lots of air holes drilled into it, and Zoe could hear a funny grunting sound coming from inside. Great-Uncle Horace unfastened the latch and opened up the crate. Everyone waited eagerly.

  First a round, grey snout appeared, sniffing eagerly. Then a pair of bright black eyes followed, blinking in the sudden daylight. Finally, out of the crate trotted a gorgeous baby hippo!

  “Oh, wow! Great-Uncle Horace, he’s so cute!” gasped Zoe, and on her shoulder Meep squealed in agreement.

  The little hippo waddled straight up to Great-Uncle Horace and gave a friendly grunt. Then he stared round at the crowd of people, wagging his tiny tail excitedly. Zoe could tell he wasn’t the least bit shy!

  “He looks perfectly healthy and happy, Uncle Horace!” said Lucy, bending down to take a closer look at the hippo. “What happened to him?”

  Zoe and Meep waited to hear the story. They both knew that Great-Uncle Horace only ever brought an animal back to the Rescue Zoo if it wasn’t safe for them to stay in the wild.

  “Kiki and I were travelling past a huge lake in a country called Tanzania,” explained Great-Uncle Horace.

  “Suddenly I heard a frightened squeal, so I stopped the bus to take a look. I found this little chap stuck in some deep, sticky mud at the water’s edge. I pulled him out and cleaned him up. And it was very lucky I did! That lake was full of crocodiles and he would have been in big trouble if they’d heard his cries before I did.”

  “Oh dear,” said Zoe, shuddering. “He must have been so frightened!”

  Great-Uncle Horace nodded. “I did my best to find his family, but there were no other hippos to be seen for miles around, so I’m afraid he must have been an orphan,” he said. “I knew I had to bring him straight back to the Rescue Zoo! Hippos have always been one of my favourite animals. Did you know, Zoe,” he added eagerly, “that hippos are the third-biggest land animal in the world, after elephants and rhinos? They can grow to be absolutely enormous! And many people think that they are related to elephants and rhinos too – but actually their closest animal relatives are whales!”

  “Really?” said Zoe, surprised. “Whales? But they live in the sea … hippos live on land!”

  Great-Uncle Horace smiled. “Hippos do spend some of their time on land, especially when they are eating grass, but they’d much rather be in the water. Hippos love splashing around in lakes or ponds, and they are very good swimmers. They even give birth to their babies underwater!”

  “Well, this little hippo is going to love our wonderful enclosure!” added another voice. Zoe smiled as Mo, the hippo keeper, stepped forward from the crowd. Mo looked after three hippos; Albert and Rona, and their daughter Hetty, who was two years old. Zoe thought about their home and realised Great-Uncle Horace was right: the Rescue Zoo hippos spent almost all their time wallowing in their huge pond or their special mud bath.

  “I think you’re right, Mo. He’ll love it. Let’s take the little fellow there now!” said Great-Uncle Horace.

  Great-Uncle Horace began to walk along the path towards the hippo enclosure, and the little hippo cheerfully trotted along beside him. Zoe could tell that he adored Great-Uncle Horace! She and Meep followed behind them with Lucy and Mo.

  When they reached the hippo enclosure, Great-Uncle Horace smiled at Zoe and said, “Would you like to do the honours, my dear?”

  Zoe knew what he meant straight away. She stepped up to the gate and reached for the necklace around her neck. It was a simple chain with a pretty silver charm in the shape of a paw-print, and it had been a special present from Great-Uncle Horace. She lifted the charm and held it against a small panel on the gate, and with a quiet click it swung open. The necklace wasn’t just a piece of jewellery – it was also a key, which opened every gate and door in the whole zoo!

  Zoe stepped inside the enclosure and the little hippo rushed straight in after her, making lots of funny, excited grunting noises. The other hippos turned round to look at the new arrival, and as the baby hippo trotted up to them to say hello, Hetty gave a friendly, welcoming snort.

  “He’s going to settle in easily, I can tell!” chuckled Mo. “He’s very confident.”

  “I think he likes the mud bath,” said Zoe. “Look!”

  The little hippo had spotted the pool of slurpy mud at the edge of the enclosure and squealed eagerly. He raced straight up to it and jumped right in, rolling around happily and splashing mud everywhere!

  “He definitely seems very happy in there!” laughed Lucy.

  Suddenly there was an angry cry from the other side of the fence.
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  “Ugh, what a mess! There’s mud all over the fence, all over the path – and all over me!”

  “Oh no!” whispered Zoe to Meep as the gate flew open and a very cross, very muddy figure stood there, his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. “It’s Mr Pinch!”

  Chapter Three

  The Happy Hippo

  “Just look at my uniform!” spluttered Mr Pinch angrily. “I’m covered in horrible mud!”

  Mr Pinch was the Rescue Zoo manager. He was tall and skinny, and he was always in a bad mood. More than anything, he hated mess! His uniform was usually clean and tidy, and his zoo manager’s hat and shoes polished and shiny. Now, though, he was covered in splodges of mud. “What is that?” he asked crossly, pointing to the little hippo, who was still happily rolling over and over in the gloopy mud bath.

  “Oh, good morning, Mr Pinch! That’s our newest addition to the Rescue Zoo,” explained Great-Uncle Horace cheerfully. “As you can see, he loves his new home already. I’m sorry about your uniform but I’m sure the mud will come off.”

  “And I’ll clean up the mess on the path,” added Mo.

  Mr Pinch frowned again at the little hippo and stomped off, muttering under his breath.

  “I’ll help you clean up, Mo,” offered Zoe.

  “That’s very kind of you, Zoe,” said Mo. “The hippos are always splashing mud on to the path, but usually I manage to clean up before Mr Pinch can see it. It was so unlucky that he walked past just then! I’ll grab the hose from the store cupboard.”

  Lucy had to go and check on Gertie, a giraffe who was expecting a baby, and Great-Uncle Horace needed to go and unpack, so Zoe kissed them both goodbye and said she’d see them at home later. When they had left, Zoe whispered to Meep, “Now we can properly introduce ourselves to the little hippo!”