The Eager Elephant Read online

  Bertie nodded eagerly and reached up to nuzzle Zoe’s face with his little trunk. It felt very soft and velvety, and Zoe couldn’t help giggling. David looked over and chuckled. “Is Bertie up to mischief again?” he called.

  Zoe laughed. “Mum says our new elephant is a little bit naughty.”

  “He’s not naughty, he’s just eager to be involved with everything!” David said with a smile.

  Zoe saw Bertie’s eyes light up. The baby elephant wiggled his tail and lifted his trunk in the air. Then he started stomping his feet on the ground, and rushed around the enclosure excitedly. But he wasn’t looking where he was going! Zoe held her breath as he crashed straight into one of Oscar’s huge legs, twirled around dizzily … and tumbled over in a heap!

  Meep laughed so much he nearly fell off Oscar’s head. Zoe and David rushed over to check Bertie was all right – but Oscar had already wrapped his big, strong trunk around Bertie’s tummy to help him get back on his feet, and then patted his head gently. Zoe giggled as Bertie raced straight off again, already looking for more fun. Rescue Zoo’s newest arrival was a real bundle of energy!

  Chapter Four

  Weigh Day!

  “Walnuts for the parrots?” Lucy asked.

  “Check!” Zoe replied, putting them on the table.

  “Oranges for the chimps?” said Lucy.

  Meep struggled to hold up a whole orange. “Check!” Zoe giggled.

  “Then I think we’re ready for Weigh Day!” Lucy smiled.

  Weigh Day was one of Zoe’s favourite days in the Recue Zoo calendar. Once a year every creature in the zoo was weighed, so that Lucy and the keepers could make sure that they were all fit and healthy. It was a good way to tell if the tiny marmosets were growing big and strong, or if the greedy pot-bellied pigs were getting a bit too tubby! Lots of the animals didn’t like standing on the special weighing scales, so Zoe always helped out on Weigh Day, rushing from enclosure to enclosure, giving each of her animal friends a treat and whispering encouragement to them.

  “Mr Pinch wants to meet with everyone before we start,” Lucy said, pulling a funny face. “He’ll talk for a while, so why don’t you go and visit Bertie before we begin? I know you’ve been longing to see him.”

  “OK!” Zoe happily agreed. “I—” She paused as her nose tickled, then she sneezed, one, two, three times in a row.

  “Are you OK?” her mum asked, sounding concerned.

  “Yes – I’m fine.” Zoe grinned, blowing her nose. “I can’t wait to find out what Bertie’s been getting up to!”

  “I’ll meet you at the ring-tailed coatis,” Lucy told her.

  Zoe grabbed her coat and rushed outside with Meep. It was so early that the zoo wasn’t open to visitors yet. A whole week had passed since the little elephant had arrived at the zoo, but Zoe had been working really hard on a special homework project so she hadn’t had much chance to visit Bertie again. Zoe couldn’t help feeling sad when Great-Uncle Horace had come round and chuckled about Bertie tying his own trunk in a knot, and when Mum told her how Bertie had trumpeted noisily at some ducks flying overhead, making them all quack with surprise!

  Zoe turned the corner and skidded to a halt as she heard a familiar voice. “Gather round, everyone!”

  Meep froze on the zoo pathway just ahead of Zoe. “Mr Pinch,” Zoe whispered. Meep carefully padded three steps backwards, then turned and leaped quickly on to Zoe’s shoulder.

  “Mr Pinch sounds really bossy today,” Meep whispered in her ear. “Let’s hide!”

  Zoe sighed. “But we have to go past him if we want to get to the elephants!” she pointed out.

  Meep scampered ahead and peered round the corner, then ran back over to Zoe.

  “Mr Pinch is with all the keepers,” he chattered. “Maybe if he’s busy talking, he won’t notice us?”

  “OK,” Zoe agreed. “Let’s try to slip past quietly.”

  Zoe tiptoed up to the sprawling oak tree just ahead and peeped round it. Mr Pinch was making an announcement to a group of zookeepers. He was holding a long list of all the animals in the zoo, with an empty box next to each name.

  “As you know, today is Weigh Day!” He frowned grumpily, adding, “No doubt the animals will be messing around even more than usual. Any bad behaviour should be reported to me immediately!” He nodded importantly.

  As Mr Pinch barked orders at the keepers, Zoe and Meep sneaked past and rushed to the elephant enclosure. When they arrived, Zoe used her necklace to open the gate and they slipped inside.

  “Morning, Oscar! Morning, Bertie!” Zoe called as they walked over to the elephants, waving.

  Bertie squealed excitedly when he saw Zoe and Meep. His ears flapped and his dark eyes lit up, and when Zoe reached out to stroke his head he ran around her in a ring until he wobbled dizzily. Zoe burst out laughing, and even Oscar gave a deep, booming trumpet of laughter.

  “You’re very happy this morning,” Zoe said, smiling at him. “Are you glad to see us?”

  Bertie nodded and swung his trunk from side to side, making a happy squealing sound.

  “Silly Bertie, you haven’t been waiting to talk to me for months,” said Zoe, grinning. “You’ve only been here for a week!”

  Meep squeaked with laughter. Bertie gave another earnest little trumpet.

  “It has been a very busy week, Bertie,” Zoe agreed kindly. “I hope you’re enjoying being here at the Rescue Zoo?”

  Bertie waggled his ears excitedly. He was so eager to tell her how much he loved the zoo that he stumbled over his own feet and almost fell down! Zoe beamed as the baby elephant told her all about his enclosure, his big best friend Oscar and all the kind people who had been to see him. But she hesitated when Bertie told her that he wanted to see the whole zoo for himself, and visit all the other enclosures.

  “I’m not sure about that, Bertie,” she said. “All the other animals at the Rescue Zoo are very friendly, but some of them are quite shy. They might not like an elephant stomping through their homes – even a baby one!”

  Bertie looked so sad that Zoe quickly added, “But David sometimes takes Oscar on a walk around the zoo to get some exercise. You can see inside the other enclosures from the path. Maybe we could do that again soon, and you could come too!”

  As Zoe mentioned Oscar’s name, Bertie looked round for his big friend. Oscar was standing nearby, curling his trunk up to eat leaves from tall tree. Bertie trotted over to him and tried to copy him, reaching up as high as he could go, trumpeting loudly and twisting around Oscar’s legs. Oscar looked down at him patiently, his mouth full of leaves. Then Oscar slowly walked over to a small tree with low branches, with Bertie trotting after him. Zoe smiled as she realised that the big elephant had taken Bertie there so he would be able to reach the juicy green leaves by himself. But Bertie took one look at the tree, shook his head stubbornly, and dashed back to the tall tree that Oscar had been eating from. Bertie gazed up at the tree and gave a hopeful trumpet.

  “Bertie, it’s lovely that you’re so proud to be friends with Oscar,” Zoe laughed. “But you can’t eat from the same huge trees as him, just because you want to be a big elephant, too! The smaller tree will be much easier for you,” she explained.

  But Bertie shook his head stubbornly. So Oscar curled his trunk all the way round a high branch, pulled off a trunkful of leaves and passed them down to Bertie. The little elephant happily took one leaf at a time and put them into his mouth, then squealed for more.

  “Cheeky Bertie!” giggled Zoe. At least Oscar didn’t seem to mind his mischievous friend. The big elephant had a twinkle in his gentle brown eyes as he watched Bertie munch his breakfast.

  The enclosure gate swung open and David walked in, smiling. “Morning, Zoe. You’re here nice and early! We’ve come to weigh the elephants. I thought Oscar could go first, then Bertie will see there’s nothing to be worried about.”

  Behind him, a big red tractor was rumbling slowly into the enclosure. Zoe could see one of the other zookeepe
rs, Will, sitting in the driver’s seat. The Rescue Zoo symbol was painted on both doors and it was pulling a huge silver weighing scale on a trailer behind it. The zoo needed an extra-specially big scale to weigh Oscar, as well as the rhinos and the hippos, because they were so heavy.

  “Could you park over there, Will?” David called, pointing to a spot in the middle of the enclosure. “I’ll just run back and shut the gate.”

  As David jogged back over to the gate, Bertie stared at the digger in amazement. For a moment, Zoe thought he was frightened. But then he gave an excited squeal and rushed towards it as fast as his little legs could carry him. “Bertie, slow down!” Zoe hissed anxiously, chasing after him. “That’s really dangerous!”

  Bertie was heading straight for the huge wheels of the digger, trumpeting happily. The baby elephant thought it had come to play with him! “You’re going to get squashed, Bertie!” Zoe called desperately.

  But Bertie was too excited to listen.

  “Bertie, I’ve thought of a new game!” Zoe shouted, thinking fast. “Chase me instead! I bet you can’t catch me.”

  Bertie turned round straightaway, his ears wiggling happily. Suddenly, Zoe wasn’t sure this was such a good idea. Bertie was an elephant, after all – and he was charging straight towards her! She started running away from the digger, so that Bertie moved out of the path of its huge wheels. She was fast, but the elephant reached her in no time. Thump! Bertie thudded playfully into her, flinging his trunk around her waist for a big hug.

  “You win, Bertie!” Zoe laughed, trying to catch her breath. “But maybe that’s enough for now.” Bertie might be a baby but he was still very strong, and he was already much heavier than her.

  At least he didn’t get hurt, she thought, relieved to see that the digger had stopped. It was slowly lowering the massive scale on to the ground. Bertie looked at it curiously, then poked Zoe’s hand with the tip of his trunk, wanting to know what it was. “It’s to weigh you, so we can see how heavy you are,” Zoe whispered. “Don’t worry, it’s really easy! Look, Oscar’s going to go first.”

  Bertie watched as Oscar began lumbering steadily over to the scale. Then the baby elephant gave a sudden trumpet and rushed towards it. Oscar stopped and stared in surprise as Bertie scampered under his huge feet, hopped on to the scale and squealed proudly.

  Zoe and the keepers burst out laughing. They hadn’t needed to worry about how they’d persuade Bertie to climb on to the scale. The funny little creature was so eager, he had done it all by himself!

  Chapter Five

  Wriggly Ringo

  When Zoe and Meep left the elephant enclosure, they were both still giggling at Bertie pushing ahead of Oscar. Zoe’s giggles made her cough, and Meep had to pat her on the back with his paw!

  “Thanks, Meep,” Zoe said, as soon as she could talk again. “Bertie was so funny.”

  “He wants to do whatever Oscar does!” Meep agreed.

  “He’s a very eager elephant,” Zoe said with a smile. “At least that’s one animal who’s already been weighed today! Come on, let’s find Mum and see if we can help with the others.”

  They hurried through the zoo towards the ring-tailed coatis. In every enclosure there was a keeper trying to get the measurements for Weigh Day. There was lots of splashing in the sea lion enclosure. The slippery sea lions were jumping out of their pool and into a special sling, which was attached to some scales. Zoe was surprised at how well they were behaving, until she noticed their keeper was throwing a silvery fish to each sea lion once it had been weighed!

  Next door the tiny possums were being placed gently into a set of scales no bigger than a teacup. Just the tips of their ears peeped out over the top as their keeper wrote their weight down on a notepad.

  There was a lot of grumbling coming from the next enclosure. Zoe giggled as she spotted Mr Pinch trying to make the baboons line up neatly as they waited their turn to be weighed. He raced around frantically, tripping over his own feet as he tried to shoo them into place. But as soon as he managed to put two baboons next to each other and turned his back on them, they tumbled out of line, rolling playfully on the ground or leaping up into the trees, hooting cheekily.

  “Naughty things!” Mr Pinch cried furiously, his cheeks growing redder and redder. “Now I’ve got to start all over again!”

  “Zoe, there you are!” called a voice from across the path. Great-Uncle Horace was with Lucy in the ring-tailed coati enclosure, looking a bit flustered. The sleeves of his safari jacket were rolled up to his elbows and his safari hat was perched crookedly on his head. In his arms was a very wriggly animal.

  “The coatis don’t want to be weighed,” explained Great-Uncle Horace.

  The ring-tailed coatis were some of Zoe’s favourite creatures. They had orangey-red coats, pointed snouts, gorgeous dark eyes, and bushy tails that were striped black and white. Their enclosure was covered with tall poles and ropes for them to climb on. Lucy and the coati keeper, Auriol, were holding up tasty snacks to the coatis to try and tempt them down, but it wasn’t working!

  “We’ve been chasing them round for ages,” Great-Uncle Horace continued, “but they just won’t sit still! Could you hold Ringo while we try to round up the others?”

  “Of course!” Zoe replied, using her paw-print charm to open the gate. She carefully lifted Ringo out of Great-Uncle Horace’s arms and held him gently. Checking that Great-Uncle Horace, Lucy and Auriol were busy trying to catch the others, she bent down and whispered to him. “It won’t hurt, you know, Ringo! It’s really quick and easy. All you have to do is sit on that funny box for a second, and then there’ll be a nice tasty treat for you.”

  Ringo’s ears pricked up when he heard about the treat, and he squeaked a question. Zoe nodded, smiling. “Yes, all your brothers and sisters can have one too. They have to be weighed first though!”

  Ringo squeaked again, loudly this time, and all the other coatis stopped to listen. Auriol’s mouth dropped open in surprise as they scurried towards the scale and lined up neatly, waiting for their turn. Zoe lifted Ringo on to the scale first, then gave him a cuddle once Great-Uncle Horace had marked his weight down on the chart. “Well done, Ringo,” Zoe whispered, grinning as she handed him a juicy strawberry to nibble.

  “Good work, Zoe,” Lucy grinned. “I don’t know how you do it!”

  Zoe and Meep grinned at each other. “Who’s next on the list, Mum?” Zoe asked Lucy.

  “Bella the polar bear,” Lucy replied.

  “Ooh, good!” Zoe said with a smile. “I want to see how much bigger she’s grown since the last time she was weighed!”

  But as they started packing up their things, a grumpy voice snapped from further down the path. “These animals make me so cross! Why can’t they just all behave themselves and sit on the scales properly?”

  Zoe and Meep ducked behind Great-Uncle Horace as Mr Pinch marched past the coati enclosure and stomped into his office.

  “I hope he stays in there all day,” Zoe whispered to Meep, which made the little lemur snort with laughter.

  Suddenly a huge trumpeting noise boomed through the zoo. It was coming from the elephant enclosure – and this time it didn’t sound very happy! “Quick, Meep!” whispered Zoe, scooping up her friend and rushing towards the noise.

  “I wonder what Bertie has done now!” Meep chattered.

  “That’s not Bertie,” Zoe told Meep in dismay. “It’s Oscar!”

  Chapter Six

  Oscar’s Watery Worry

  Zoe and Meep rushed back along the path, past the groups of visitors who were streaming into the zoo. They passed two boys who were racing along on matching silver scooters.

  “I wonder what that elephant was trumpeting about!” Zoe heard one of them say as he whizzed past.

  “He was really noisy!” the other boy agreed, giggling. Just then, the trumpeting sound floated down the path once more. What’s happening? Zoe wondered again, dashing through the gate and into the elephant enclosure.
<
br />   Bertie was racing around, his ears flapping. Oscar was standing alone at the back of the enclosure, trying to make himself as small as possible against the fence. David was next to him, stroking his huge ears.

  “Is Oscar all right?” Zoe called, running over to them. “Didn’t he want to be weighed?” she asked. Usually Oscar didn’t mind Weigh Day because he was always proud to hear that he was the heaviest creature in the whole zoo.

  But David shook his head. “No, that was the easy bit! He stepped on to the scale without any fuss, just like Bertie. I gave them both an orange as a treat for being so good. Then …” David sighed. “I thought it might be fun to get out the paddling pool, so that Bertie could have a splash about. But Oscar saw me going to fetch the hose and got very upset.”

  “Oh!” Zoe was beginning to understand what the unhappy trumpeting noise had been. She knew that Oscar looked big and brave but that he was really frightened of water. He hated baths, and he even hid under the trees when it was raining heavily!

  David sighed. “I’ve never known an elephant to be scared of water before. Usually, splashing around in water holes with the the herd is one of their favourite things to do! Your great-uncle and I think something must have happened to him when he was a young elephant, still living in Africa. You know the famous saying about an elephant’s memory, don’t you?”

  “Elephants never forget,” said Zoe, nodding. “Poor Oscar.”

  Zoe had talked to Oscar lots of times about why he didn’t like water. At least, she’d tried to talk to him. The big, gentle creature wouldn’t explain where his fear came from. Whenever Zoe asked him, he just shook his head firmly and refused to tell her anything else.