by Charles Tang
Boxes were stacked in corners, and a lamp as tall as Henry was in the center. Benny’s eyes were wide as he peered at the many things strewn about. “Where should we start?” he asked.
Stepping over an old heater, Henry tipped over an empty box. “Anywhere you want to, Benny. Edward said we could bring upstairs anything we could use.”
“Oh, boy,” Benny said, going to a dark corner and kneeling down to open an old tin box. He picked up something small. “How pretty,” he said, holding up an orange and black trinket.
“Look,” Henry said, pointing to a wooden cabinet. “This must be what Edward mentioned.” Opening the two doors, he peeked inside. “This will be just fine to store his magazines and newspapers.”
Violet ran her hand over the dark wood. “I’ll bet this is a hundred years old.”
“Maybe it was his mother’s sewing cabinet,” Jessie said. “Edward told us he grew up in this house, so I know many of these things belonged to his parents.”
“Let’s carry this upstairs,” Henry said. He lifted one end, and Violet and Jessie the other. They started up the steps.
They set the cabinet near Edward’s chair in the living room.
“Did you notice that bookcase by the furnace?” Jessie asked.
“Perfect!” Violet exclaimed. “We could put some of Edward’s books in there.”
So they carried it upstairs. “What’s this?” Jessie asked, picking up an album that was on the lower shelf.
Sitting down, Violet turned the pages of an old photo album. She peered closely at an old snapshot. “Look! This is Edward!”
Henry, looking over her shoulder, exclaimed, “Edward was a pilot in World War Two. He was either in Japan or Germany. Those were the two main areas of fighting during the war.”
“A pilot!” Violet said in surprise. “Who would have thought it? Edward is such a gentle man.” She picked up the small photo. “This must be Edward in his pilot’s suit, and, look, there’s a pair of silver wings pinned to the collar of his leather jacket. And in the background is a plane with the words, ‘The Wildcats.’ ”
Jessie took the picture and studied it. “Next to Edward is a real wildcat on a chain. Do you suppose that was their mascot?”
“I’m sure of it,” Henry said. “I want to ask him about these things.” He walked away. “Ouch!” he groaned, rubbing his shin. “I stumbled over this pile of books.”
Jessie laughed. “It isn’t a pile now. Books are scattered everywhere.”
Henry studied the bookcase. “We could paint this and set it on the other side of Edward’s big chair.”
A noise in back of her caused Jessie to turn around. Suddenly her mouth formed an O of astonishment. “Oh, no!” she whispered. “Benny, what have you done?”
Benny stared down at his shirt. “I decorated myself,” he said proudly.
“Oh,” Violet said in a dismayed voice. “You certainly did.” She touched one of the red and white hooks. “You got into Edward’s fishing tackle box.”
Benny touched one of the fishhooks that he’d pinned on his shirt. Dozens of different-colored feathered fishhooks covered his shirt. Henry tried to get one off, but the hook was embedded in the cloth.
“It’s a good thing that’s an old T-shirt,” Jessie said quietly. “We’ll have to cut off every hook!”
Benny asked, “Did I do something wrong?”
Violet said, “Fishhooks are hard to get loose. And,” she added in a firm tone, “they’re dangerous and shouldn’t be played with.”
“I won’t do it again,” Benny promised.
“I know you won’t,” Violet said.
Jessie, with great care, cut off every fishhook. Benny’s shirt was filled with holes. “What can I do with it now?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about it, Benny,” Henry said. “You can use it to help us polish this cabinet.”
So they all pitched in and rubbed the wood to a beautiful sheen, then placed the antique cabinet by Edward’s chair.
“What a nice addition to the living room,” Jessie said, standing back.
“Yes, isn’t it?” Violet agreed, placing on top of it a blue vase she’d found.
When they finished, the children prepared a delicious dinner.
Edward’s eyebrows lifted when he saw the shiny glasses, and two candles in the center of the round table. “I didn’t know my house could look so beautiful!” Edward said. He smiled when the meal was served. Baked chicken, peas, mashed potatoes, muffins, and for dessert, hot apple pie topped with ice cream.
“My grandchildren are very competent,” Grandfather said proudly.
That night everyone slept well. The children were tired from their busy day.
The following morning Henry said, “I noticed a bookstore across the street from Mike’s Grocery. Shall we see what’s in it?”
“Oh, let’s,” Jessie said eagerly.
“Aren’t we going to the zoo?” Benny asked in a disappointed voice.
“Of course, we are,” Violet answered. “First the bookstore, then the zoo.”
Entering the bookstore, the children were greeted by a tall lanky man who was bald and wore glasses. “Come in,” he said in a welcoming voice. He bent down and asked Benny, “And what kind of books do you like to read?”
“Books about animals,” Benny said quickly.
“Ahh,” the skinny man said, raising his brows and glancing at the older children.
Jessie laughed. “Yes, we’re all interested in animals.”
“Especially animals in a zoo,” Henry said.
“I see.” The man rubbed his chin.
“You see,” Violet continued, “we’re visiting Edward Marlow who owns the zoo. We’ll be spending lots of time with the animals.”
“Oh.” A strange expression crossed the man’s thin face, but it quickly passed, and he poked his glasses up on his long nose.
“Well, I’ll find you all kinds of animal books,” he said. “By the way, I’m Mac Thatcher, the owner of the shop.”
“I’m Henry Alden,” Henry said, placing a hand on Benny’s shoulder, “and this is my little brother, Benny, and my two sisters, Violet and Jessie.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Mac Thatcher said, tilting his head and studying each one. Then he handed Benny a book. “This is a good book on zoo animals and what they eat.” He gave another book to Violet. “This tells how they’re captured and brought to zoos, and this one,” he said, handing a book to Jessie, “is about baby animals in the zoo.”
“This is great!” Benny said, flipping through the pictures of camels, rhinoceroses, elephants, lions, seals, bright-colored birds, and monkeys.
Mac Thatcher piled up books faster than the children could look at them, and he told them about each different kind of animal. There were books on jungle animals, on all sorts of monkeys, one on the African lion, another on the Bengal tiger. There were books on gorillas, bears, and hippopotamuses.
“Stop,” Violet begged. “I can’t keep track of all the books you’re showing us.”
“Mr. Thatcher, you certainly know a lot about animals,” Benny said admiringly.
“Call me Mac,” he said in a kind voice. “Yes, I know my animals.”
“Do you spend a lot of time at the zoo?” Benny asked.
But Mac didn’t answer. He wheeled about and reached for another book.
“Do you spend a lot of time at the zoo?” Violet asked again, thinking he hadn’t heard Benny.
Mac stared at her but pressed his lips together, not responding.
CHAPTER 4
More Trouble at the Zoo
When the children arrived home from the bookstore, they greeted Grandfather, who was digging holes for the new shrubs he had bought that morning.
Entering the house, they were surprised to see Edward in an angry conversation with a woman in a red suit and a black hat.
Edward stopped talking when he saw the children. “Hi, kids,” he called. He briefly introduced them to the woman, who
se name was Helen Brooks. She scarcely gave them a glance as she impatiently tapped her shoe.
After saying hello to her, the Aldens excused themselves and went into the kitchen.
They sat around the table while Jessie poured milk into three glasses and one pink cup, which was Benny’s.
As they drank, they couldn’t help overhearing Edward arguing with Helen Brooks.
“I tell you,” Miss Brooks said in a stern voice, “that zoo of yours is not worth another penny of the taxpayers’ money!”
Edward shot back a cold reply, “The zoo means everything to the children in Rosedale, and to lots of adults, too.”
Helen Brooks sneered. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. The zoo should be closed down. It costs thousands of dollars a year for food and medicine alone!” She continued in a raspy voice, “As a member of the town council, I intend to bring this up at the next meeting!”
“And what will happen to the monkeys and lions and all the other animals?” Edward shouted.
“How should I know?” Helen Brooks snapped back.
“If you had a heart, you’d care,” Edward said sadly.
“Animals can be sent to other zoos,” Helen said in a quarrelsome tone, “or you can give them away. I don’t care!”
“I’ll never give my animals away,” Edward answered defiantly. “Each one means a lot to me!”
“That’s too bad!” Helen said. “At the next meeting the zoo will be the first order of business!”
The children had stopped drinking and stared at one another. Violet felt a stab of concern. The town council couldn’t get rid of Edward’s zoo, she thought, and all his wonderful animals. Or could they? Jessie and Henry had the same thought.
Benny pushed his milk away. “I think the zoo is great,” he murmured. He looked as if he were going to cry.
Henry jumped up. “I’ll tell that Helen Brooks how we feel about the zoo,” he said in a low voice.
“No,” Jessie whispered. “Let’s wait and see what Edward wants us to do.”
Slowly, Henry sank back. “I guess you’re right. But that woman …”
“I know,” Violet said.
“You can be certain that I’ll be at the next council meeting!” Edward shouted. “You won’t get away with this!”
“You’re stubborn, Edward Marlow!” Helen retorted, “but it won’t do you any good!”
The door slammed and it was quiet.
For a moment all the Aldens heard was the tick of the clock. Then Benny stood up and rushed into the living room. “We heard what that mean woman said!” he cried. “The zoo won’t be shut down, will it?”
Jessie, Violet, and Henry stood in the doorway, waiting for Edward’s answer.
Edward shook his head. “Not if I can help it!” He glanced at each one. “Hey! Don’t look so glum! I have lots of people on my side.”
Benny smiled.
So did Jessie. But she wondered if Edward had any friends on the town council.
“Let’s go check out the animals at the zoo!” Edward said.
As they walked along, Henry began, “Edward, we found a picture of you in a pilot’s uniform.” He looked at Edward, uncertain if he was intruding or not.
Surprised, Edward smiled. “Oh, you found the one of me and our squadron’s mascot, Billy. That was when I was in the air force in Texas.”
“Billy looked fierce,” Violet said.
“He was fierce!” Edward said. “He was one of the fiercest wildcats I’ve ever seen. When I saw him, he was in a tiny cage and I was determined to put him in an area where he could run. I found an unused dog run and rented it. There Billy could prance, sleep in the sun, or just play with the leaves.”
“Billy must have been special,” Jessie said, noticing Edward’s caring face.
“He was!” Edward said emphatically. “After the war was over and I returned from overseas, I went back to Texas for Billy. Other soldiers had taken care of him. At first I didn’t know what I’d do, but Billy gave me the idea of raising money for a zoo, a place where animals could have freedom to roam about. I’ve always loved animals, and this gave me a purpose in life.” He paused, remembering. “Billy was my first zoo inhabitant.”
“What happened to Billy?” Benny asked.
“My wildcat lived to a ripe old age, then died in his sleep.”
Entering the zoo’s gates, Benny was excited to see the animals.
The children strolled by the elephants where a boy about Henry’s age was grooming a baby elephant. When he saw Edward, he stopped and waved.
“Hi, David,” Edward called. “He looks good!”
“Thanks,” the boy said.
“That’s David Adams,” Edward explained, moving on to the monkeys’ area. “He’s a reliable helper after school and on Saturdays. During the summer, he works three days a week. You’ll have to get to know him.”
They stopped to watch the monkeys. Several flew through the air on a trapeze while others played in the trees, swinging from branch to branch.
“Isn’t that one cute?” Violet said, pointing at the smallest monkey. His bright button eyes peeked at them through a cluster of leaves.
Edward chuckled. “You know zoos often name their animals, and I enjoy naming mine. That’s Amos, a real show-off. He loves people and is a smart little fellow.”
Amos swung down and plucked a tin cup off the ground and hugged it to his chest.
“I’ll bet that’s his very own cup,” Benny said. “Just like I have my pink cup.”
“He’s an imp. But everyone loves him,” Edward said. “He likes to clown for an audience, and when they clap, he claps back.”
Edward moved on.
“I like Amos,” Benny said, following the others. He glanced back for one last glimpse of the monkey.
At the zebra enclosure, Violet said, “The zebras’ coloring is so different.”
“Good camouflage on the plains,” Edward answered.
“How striking! White stripes on black,” Jessie said.
“Oh?” Henry teased. “I thought it was black stripes on white.”
Puzzled, Benny asked, “Which is it?”
“Whatever you want it to be,” Violet said, smiling.
A roar startled them. They hurried around the corner and saw two orange-and-black-striped tiger cubs rolling about in the dirt. Nearby, the mother swam in the pool.
“I didn’t know cats liked water,” Jessie said.
“Not many of them do,” Edward explained, “but the Bengal tiger from India is the exception. Isn’t Zelda a beauty?”
“Zelda’s jaws are huge!” Violet said.
“Zelda eats about ten pounds of meat a day and a beef shank every Wednesday,” Edward said. As if knowing she were being talked about, Zelda opened her mouth and roared. Edward chuckled. “Zelda knows it’s almost dinnertime.”
The two cubs, biting and growling, continued to roll about in play.
“Oh, here’s a sight you’ll like to see,” Edward said, crossing to the other side.
Two bears splashed in a pool, shoving a log back and forth. “You need to give the animals playthings,” Edward said. “Otherwise they get bored. It gives them good exercise, too.”
“The way they toss that log,” Jessie said, “you’d think it was as light as a toothpick.”
“Brown bears are strong, all right,” Edward said, walking on to the giraffes.
Suddenly, Pat caught up with them. “The electricity is off in the kitchen,” she said breathlessly.
“What!” Edward whirled about. “I’ll check the transformers.”
“I’ve already done that,” Pat said. “All of them are in place. I phoned the electrician and he’ll be here as soon as he can.”
Edward frowned. “Why is the electricity off?” He gave Pat a worried glance. “Without electricity, the big food processor will be off. It will take hours to mash the food and chop vegetables. And there’ll be no hot water to mix with the food,” Edward sai
d, running his fingers through his gray hair. “Do you kids want to help?”
“You bet!” Benny answered.
“Come with me to the kitchen. We’ll have to slice vegetables, fruit, meat, and get the bales of hay for the elephants,” Edward said.
Violet hurried after Edward. She frowned, deep in thought. First the animals’ signs were switched. Then Helen Brooks wanted to close down the zoo. Now the kitchen electricity was cut off. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all.
CHAPTER 5
Hungry Animals
The children chopped and cut fruits and vegetables until their fingers were stiff. They sliced bananas, carrots, oranges, and apples.
Pat took out the meat from the huge refrigerator and hurriedly sliced the meat for the big cats. She worked fast and well. In the background they could hear growls, roars, squalls, screeches, whistling, and squeaking. Pat glanced over at Violet. “You can certainly tell the animals are hungry,” she said.
“All these different dinners you need to prepare,” Jessie said in amazement. “I didn’t know there was so much work in running a zoo.” She threw three oranges in a bowl, which already contained a half pound of carrots, a half pound of cabbage, and five apples. This was one bear’s diet.
Pat stopped what she was doing to come to Jessie’s side and add a pound of beef mix and drizzle honey over the entire meal.
Jessie started on the second bear’s dinner. This wasn’t as hard since she’d already done one. At least nothing needed chopping.
Pat, slicing off large chunks of fat from the beef, chuckled. “You’d be surprised how many diets we’ve tried. Lions, though, are particular, like your ordinary house cat. Finicky. If they don’t like the food you give them, the lions simply give a swish of their tails and leave it. Sometimes it takes months to get the right balance that will tempt them.” Pat’s soft blue eyes sparkled. She liked to talk about her work. “We mix nutritious food with beef, but if I mix in too much of the nutritious food, the cat won’t eat it. It’s hard to find just the right healthy combination.” As she spoke, she cut meat off a joint of beef. “I miss the large electric knives that we usually work with.”
