The Cuddly Koala Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One Holiday at the Rescue Zoo

  Chapter Two A Double Surprise

  Chapter Three Koala Cuddles

  Chapter Four Sleepover Time

  Chapter Five The Poorly Koala

  Chapter Six Zoe’s Plan

  Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Wild Wolf Pup

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Holiday at the Rescue Zoo

  “I’m so excited that it’s finally half-term!” said Zoe Parker, swinging her school bag happily. “And we get a whole week off school!”

  It was Friday afternoon and school had just broken up for the half-term holiday. Zoe was walking home with two of her friends from her class, Nicola and Jack. Their parents were walking just behind them, chatting.

  “I’m excited too!” said Nicola with a smile. “I can’t wait to have some time to play with Rex.”

  Zoe grinned at her friend – Nicola had a new dog and he was very cute and bouncy!

  “Yeah, and I’m going to help my dad finish our tree house,” Jack said. “Then you can both come over and play in it!”

  The three friends laughed as they planned their half-term adventures, but then Zoe remembered their homework. “What are you going to do for your science project?” she asked Nicola and Jack.

  That morning Zoe’s teacher, Miss Hawkins, had asked everyone in the class to do a special piece of homework over the break. They had to choose something from the natural world to observe carefully, and then write some notes about whatever they had chosen. Miss Hawkins had asked them to take photographs or draw pictures too. Then, after the break, they each had to explain to the class what they had found out. There was even going to be a prize for the best project!

  “I think I’m going to do mine about frogs. There’s a pond full of frogs and frogspawn at the bottom of my garden,” said Jack.

  “I might do mine about wildflowers,” said Nicola thoughtfully. “My granny lives near the woods and she knows lots about them. I could ask her to take me for a walk there, and help me take pictures.”

  “Cool! Those are both really good ideas,” Zoe said.

  “I bet I know what you’re going to do yours on, Zoe!” replied Jack with a grin. “One of the animals at the Rescue Zoo!”

  Zoe chuckled. Jack was right! As soon as Miss Hawkins had explained about the project, she had known immediately that she wanted to do hers about an animal. They were her favourite things in the whole world, and she knew more about them than anyone else in her class. The only question was: which animal should she write about? There were hundreds of different creatures at the Rescue Zoo – too many to choose from!

  “You’re so lucky, Zoe,” sighed Nicola as they turned the corner and the carved wooden gates of the Rescue Zoo appeared in front of them.

  Zoe smiled at Nicola. She felt lucky. She wasn’t just a visitor at the zoo – she actually lived there!

  Zoe’s Great-Uncle Horace was a famous explorer and animal expert, and had started the Rescue Zoo so that all the lost, frightened or injured animals he met on his adventures could have a safe and caring home. He was very wise and kind, and Zoe always looked forward to seeing him whenever he came back to visit – especially because he often brought a new animal back to the zoo with him!

  Zoe’s mum, Lucy, was the zoo vet, and they lived in a pretty little cottage at the edge of the zoo. That meant that Lucy could help any animal that was poorly, day or night – and Zoe got to spend every spare minute she had with the animals.

  “Maybe you can come to the zoo one day during the holiday,” Zoe suggested to both her friends. “Why don’t you ask your parents? I could show you round all my favourite enclosures! We’ve got the most beautiful young polar bear, called Snowy – she’s adorable. And three snow leopard cubs as well!”

  “Really? I would love to!” said Nicola, and Jack nodded eagerly.

  As she spoke, there was a funny little squeak from just beyond the gate, and a tiny face with big, golden eyes peeped around it. “Meep!” said Zoe. “He must have been waiting for me to get home!”

  Nicola and Jack both laughed as Meep scampered out through the gate and leaped into Zoe’s arms for a cuddle. He was a grey mouse lemur with a long curly tail, and so small that he could perch on Zoe’s shoulder, or fit snugly inside her pocket! He was Zoe’s best friend, and had arrived at the Rescue Zoo when he was a tiny baby. He’d needed lots of special care, so Zoe and Lucy had taken him back to their cottage to look after him – and he’d lived with them there ever since.

  “He’s so cute!” cooed Nicola.

  Meep wriggled in Zoe’s arms until his tummy was exposed, and Zoe giggled. “He’d like you to give his tummy a stroke or a tickle,” Zoe told her friends.

  Nicola and Jack reached out carefully and tickled Meep. The little lemur gave a happy squeal. “I think he’s enjoying that!” laughed Jack.

  “Yes, I am!” squeaked Meep. “I’m so glad you’re home from school, Zoe. I’ve missed you all day!”

  Zoe winked at her friend. She knew that Nicola and Jack would only hear funny squeaking sounds from Meep – but she actually understood what he was saying. Living at the Rescue Zoo wasn’t the only amazing thing about Zoe. She had a secret – a big secret! When she was little, she had found out that animals can understand people. And most amazingly of all, Zoe had a special ability to understand animals, too!

  “Come on, Jack! Time to go home,” Jack’s dad called, waving. Jack nodded. “Coming, Dad.”

  “See you again soon, Zoe!” said Nicola.

  “Do you really think we could come and visit the zoo over the holiday?” Jack asked Zoe hopefully.

  “Definitely!” Zoe promised. “I’ll get my mum to give your parents a ring.”

  As her friends walked off chatting excitedly, Zoe, Meep and Zoe’s mum walked through the carved wooden gates into the zoo. Zoe could see that it was very busy, and full of visitors.

  “I’d better stop by the zoo hospital before tea,” Lucy told Zoe. “One of the pelicans has a poorly wing, and I want to give him a check-up. There’s a snack for you on the kitchen table – and one for Meep, because I know he always tries to share yours!”

  Zoe grinned. Meep was tiny but he had a big appetite!

  As her mum dashed off down the path, Zoe and Meep headed towards the cottage. “Yum, a special snack all for me!” chattered Meep, rubbing his tummy. “What do you think it will be, Zoe? A banana? Or sunflower seeds? I like those a lot. Or maybe some berries?”

  “Maybe it’s all three!” suggested Zoe, and giggled at the excited expression on Meep’s face. “Now, listen, Meep. I need your help. I can’t decide what animal to do my science project on! I’ve got too many ideas and I can’t choose one. I could write about the elephants and their long, clever trunks. Or maybe the tigers… Oh, or the leopards, and explain how their patterned coats camouflage them. Or maybe a project about the Rescue Zoo bees, and how they make honey?”

  “Or you could write all about me,” Meep said helpfully. “I’m a very interesting animal, Zoe. I have a long, curly tail that helps me balance when I climb up trees.” He waggled his tail, tickling Zoe’s nose with it. “And I have big eyes that can see really well in the dark,” he added, widening his eyes at her. Zoe chuckled. “And Goo says I’m one of the smallest primates in the world,” he finished, using the funny nickname he had for Great-Uncle Horace, because he found the long name hard to say.

  Zoe laughed again and stroked the little lemur’s head. “You’re right, Meep. You are very interesting!” she agreed. “But I still don’t think I can do my project on you. Lots of my school friends know about you already, because I talk about you so much! I think I need to pick an animal that’s a b
it different.” She sighed. “I wish Great-Uncle Horace was here – he’d help me choose. He’s been away for ages now and I really miss him.”

  As they reached the cottage door, Meep’s ears suddenly pricked up. “Zoe, what’s that?” he said.

  Zoe looked round. “I can’t hear anything, Meep.”

  “It’s a funny thudding sound,” Meep explained. “It’s a bit like when the elephants walk along with their big, heavy feet – but it’s much faster.”

  Zoe could hear the sound now too – and it was quickly getting louder and louder. She looked up at the sky and saw a small blue shape, getting closer every second.

  “Zoe, look!” squealed Meep, pointing at the shape with his tiny finger. “Is it a strange kind of bird? It’s very big – and very fast!”

  Zoe shook her head and smiled. “Meep, I know what it is. It’s not a bird – it’s a helicopter!”

  Chapter Two

  A Double Surprise

  Zoe slipped the key to the cottage back into her coat pocket and dashed along the zoo path, running as quickly as she could towards the loud thundering sound.

  “It looks like the helicopter’s going to land in the clearing in front of the gift shop,” she called to Meep, who was racing along beside her, his tiny paws moving so fast they were almost a blur. Meep seemed to have forgotten all about his snack. He was desperate to see what was happening, just like Zoe!

  All around them, the zoo visitors were looking up at the sky and pointing at the blue helicopter – and the animals were getting into a state of excitement too. Zoe passed a troop of screeching monkeys, rhinos stomping their huge feet and bellowing noisily, and parrots who had fluttered right to the tops of their trees to see better.

  “I don’t know what’s going on yet, Bertie!” Zoe shouted to the zoo’s eager little elephant, who was holding his trunk high up in the air and trumpeting curiously. “Meep and I are going to find out!”

  As they ran into the clearing, the helicopter was landing on to the grass. Now Zoe could make out a picture painted on the side: a hot-air balloon. This was the special symbol of the Rescue Zoo, and that meant the helicopter could only belong to one person.

  “It’s Great-Uncle Horace!” Zoe cried. “He’s back!”

  The blades of the helicopter spun round once more and then stopped, and the door burst open. First, out flew a beautiful bird with sapphire-blue feathers. It was Kiki, Great-Uncle Horace’s macaw, who travelled everywhere with him. Then a smiling face with untidy white hair, a battered old explorer’s hat and a pair of twinkling brown eyes popped out.

  “Zoe!” Great-Uncle Horace called across the clearing. “Just the person I wanted to see.”

  As Zoe ran to the helicopter, her mind started whirring. When Great-Uncle Horace came back to the Rescue Zoo, it was usually because he had found another animal that needed a home. Was the Rescue Zoo’s newest member inside the helicopter? Zoe really hoped so!

  Reaching Great-Uncle Horace, Zoe jumped up to give him a big hug. “You’ve been away for ages this time,” she said. “I’m so happy you’re home.”

  “So am I, my dear!” replied Great-Uncle Horace, swinging her around. “I’ve been away so long because I’ve been somewhere that’s a long, long way away. In fact, I’ve almost been to the other side of the world! Can you guess?”

  Zoe thought, trying hard to picture the huge map of the world that Miss Hawkins had pinned up on her classroom wall. “I think so,” she said. “Have you been to Australia?”

  “Exactly right!” said Great-Uncle Horace, beaming. “I’ve been to a place called Queensland. It’s almost ten thousand miles away, Zoe! The funniest thing about Australia is that their seasons are the opposite of ours. So when we are having summer, they’re having winter. And when it’s spring in Australia, it’s autumn here. That means that on Christmas Day, while we’re wearing lots of warm woolly clothes, people in Australia are having a barbecue on the beach!”

  Zoe laughed. “That’s so funny. I can’t imagine a hot and sunny Christmas Day!”

  “Now, where was I?” muttered Great-Uncle Horace thoughtfully, and Zoe giggled. “Ah, I know! Surprises!” he cried, reaching into the helicopter and pulling out a brightly wrapped parcel. “I’ve brought you two surprises from Australia, Zoe. This is the first.”

  “Thank you!” Zoe turned the present over in her hands, trying to guess what it could be. It was a strange shape, long and curved, a bit like a big, flat banana. Meep was bouncing impatiently on her shoulder, squeaking, “Open it, open it!” so she pulled off the wrapping paper. It was a piece of dark, shiny wood, carved with tiny pictures of people and animals. Zoe thought she recognised it from films she had watched, but she wasn’t sure what it was called.

  “It’s a boomerang!” explained Great-Uncle Horace. “Boomerangs have been made in Australia for thousands of years. Look at the special way the wood is shaped, Zoe – that’s so that when you throw it, it will spin round and come right back to you!”

  “Really?” asked Zoe, looking at the boomerang.

  “Try it!” suggested Great-Uncle Horace. “Just get ready to catch it.”

  Zoe lifted the boomerang up, raised her arm back and threw it. She watched it sail through the air – and laughed in delight as it spun round and flew neatly back to her. Meep almost fell off her shoulder as he ducked to get out of the boomerang’s way!

  “And now I think it’s time for the second surprise,” said Great-Uncle Horace with a smile. “Like the boomerang, I’ve brought it all the way from Australia – and it’s something else that Australia is very famous for.”

  Zoe held her breath as Great-Uncle Horace reached inside the helicopter and pulled out a wooden crate, fastened with shiny silver buckles. He put the crate carefully on the ground and began to open it. Kiki fluttered down to land on his shoulder as he did so, and Meep clung to Zoe’s shoulder, craning his head to try and get a better look.

  Great-Uncle Horace lifted the lid off the crate with a smile, and Zoe gasped. “It’s a baby koala!”

  Chapter Three

  Koala Cuddles

  “That’s right!” said Great-Uncle Horace, reaching inside the crate and lifting the little creature out. “Baby koalas are called joeys, and this little chap is just eight months old.”

  The koala was small and grey, with furry ears and curious, bright black eyes. He clung to the front of Great-Uncle Horace’s safari jacket with his long claws, blinking nervously. Zoe was desperate to cuddle him! “Why did you bring him back to the Rescue Zoo?” she asked, reaching out and stroking the joey’s soft grey head.

  “When I was in Queensland, an old friend of mine asked me to pay her a visit. She works at an animal sanctuary there,” Great-Uncle Horace explained. “This little fellow had just grown big enough to live outside his mother’s pouch, but sadly she abandoned him.”

  Zoe stared at Great-Uncle Horace. “What? That’s awful. Why would she do that?”

  Great-Uncle Horace nodded. “It is very sad but I’m afraid it’s quite common with koalas. They are rather solitary creatures, and like to live alone, so many mothers leave their babies to fend for themselves as soon as they can. That means this joey needed lots of extra-special care – which is why my old friend thought of me! She knew the koala enclosure at Rescue Zoo is a truly amazing place, and thought we might be able to give the joey a good home. Of course, I said yes!”

  “It’s perfect,” said Zoe, thinking of the beautiful enclosure next to the flamingos. It was a tall forest of eucalyptus trees, with a little stream winding through it. “And he’ll have a friend – Matilda!” Matilda was the koala who already lived at the zoo.

  Great-Uncle Horace nodded. “That’s right, although they probably won’t spend very much time together. It’s not that koalas aren’t friendly animals, but they do like their own company and space. Even so, I’m sure Matilda will help our little newcomer to feel at home.”

  “Uncle Horace!” cried a voice from across the clearing.

 
Zoe turned and saw her mum rushing towards them. Like Zoe, Lucy had dark curly hair, but she usually wore it in a bun or a ponytail – but right now she was running so fast it had come loose. “I saw the helicopter and knew it was you!” she said breathlessly, reaching up to kiss her uncle’s cheek. “Zoe and I have really missed you! What’s this you’ve brought with you – a koala!”

  “Yes! Isn’t he gorgeous?” said Zoe.

  “Oh, he’s adorable,” said Lucy, stroking his head. “And so small!”

  “I was just explaining to Zoe how I found the little chap.” Great-Uncle Horace started to tell the story, then paused and looked at Lucy carefully. Zoe glanced at her mum too, and saw that her face had fallen. “Is something the matter, my dear? You look worried,” said Great-Uncle Horace.

  “I’ve just remembered that Kieran is on holiday this week,” Lucy explained. Kieran was the zookeeper who looked after Matilda and the other marsupials, including the kangaroos and wallabies. “Some of the other keepers are helping to cover his jobs while he’s away, but of course they all have their own enclosures and animals to look after most of the time. A joey like this needs lots of special attention – especially one who’s only just arrived and might be feeling a little unsettled. I’m worried that no one will have enough time to take care of him properly. I would help if I could, but I’m so busy at the moment – three of the chipmunks are poorly, and a monkey fell and broke his leg last week…”

  Great-Uncle Horace looked down at the koala snuggled up in his arms, a concerned frown on his face. But suddenly Zoe had an idea.

  “I know!” she burst out. “What if I looked after him? I’m on my school holidays now, so I could take care of the joey until Kieran gets back next week. I already know a little bit about koalas, because I’ve helped him with Matilda before. And I’ve looked after brand-new baby animals too, so I’m used to feeding them at funny times.” Her eyes lit up as she thought of something else. “And,” she added, “this would be perfect for my school project!”