The Picky Puffin Read online

  “Mr Pinch!” Lucy exclaimed. “We don’t usually see you at the zoo hospital. How can I help you?”

  “I’m here to make a record of the new animal,” Mr Pinch announced. “I need all her details – type of bird, age, weight and date of arrival at the zoo.”

  Lucy gave Mr Pinch all the information, and he wrote everything down. “Mr Higgins told me the bird was covered in oil when she arrived,” he said disapprovingly. “What a mess!”

  “She’s not a mess at all!” said Zoe, feeling cross. “We gave her a bath yesterday and cleaned all the oil from her feathers. And it wasn’t her fault that the oil leaked from a container.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear she’s clean now,” replied Mr Pinch grumpily. “I hope I don’t have to spend all my time tidying up after her, like I seem to do with every other animal!”

  As Mr Pinch marched out of the hospital Meep stuck his tongue out at his back.

  “He’s so annoying!” Zoe exclaimed.

  “Never mind Mr Pinch,” Lucy smiled. “We’ve got a fun job this morning. Feeding Piper! Will you check outside the back door, Zoe? I asked Will, the penguin keeper, to deliver a bucket of fish for us. Puffins and penguins have fairly similar diets.”

  Zoe ran to the back door of the zoo hospital and found a small plastic bucket with a pile of silver herring inside. She carried it inside and set it down next to Piper’s nest of blankets. The little bird looked curiously at the bucket.

  “Do you want to try feeding her a fish, Zoe?” asked Lucy. “Herrings are a special favourite for puffins, and especially puffin babies. Puffins don’t chew their food, you see – they swallow it whole. So they need to eat very thin types of fish, like herring and hake.”

  “So this is perfect for Piper,” said Zoe. She picked up a fish by its slippery tail and held it out in front of Piper’s beak. The little puffin looked at it sadly, then let out a tiny squeak.

  “Oh dear. She doesn’t seem very keen,” said Lucy.

  Zoe understood what the puffling had said. “Maybe the oil in her tummy is still making her feel sick?” she suggested.

  Lucy nodded. “Yes, that could be it. Poor Piper! We’ll put the fish in the fridge and try again later. I think part of the problem is that she’s not feeling very at home in the hospital. She needs a proper puffin burrow. Will tells me there’s a spare enclosure near the penguins, with plenty of water. We’ll make a burrow there for her tomorrow, if she’s strong enough.”

  “OK,” said Zoe. “I hope she will be!”

  As Lucy went to check on the other animals in the zoo hospital, Zoe reached out a hand and gently stroked the puffling’s feathery black cap. Piper just sat there quietly.

  “She’s a bit of a picky puffling, isn’t she?” Meep whispered from Zoe’s shoulder. “She doesn’t seem to want to do anything!”

  “I’m sure it’s just because she’s not feeling well,” Zoe whispered back.

  “But she doesn’t even like eating!” Meep replied. “Who doesn’t like eating? Eating is the best thing in the whole world.” He scratched his little head. “Or maybe playing is. I’m not sure. Let me see…”

  The little lemur sprang off Zoe’s shoulder and on to the ground, where he tried a cartwheel and then a wobbly somersault.

  Zoe couldn’t help giggling – until Meep lost his balance and, with a squeal, toppled head-first in the bucket of fish.

  “Bleurgh! I’m all slimy and smelly!” he chattered crossly, scrambling out.

  “Oh, Meep!” sighed Zoe. “Now we’re going to have to clean you up. Stay there.”

  She quickly filled a bowl with warm water and told Meep to climb in.

  “I hate water. I hate it nearly as much as stinky, smelly fish,” Meep grumbled as he wriggled about, splashing water everywhere.

  “Meep, stop wriggling!” Zoe said sternly. “You’re making me all wet too.”

  Meep looked sad. “You didn’t shout at Piper when she had to have a bath yesterday.”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t Piper’s fault that she had to have a bath. And Piper didn’t make me soaking wet!” Zoe replied, frowning at her furry friend.

  As soon as Zoe had lifted Meep out of his bath and towelled him dry, she went back over to Piper. “I hope you feel better really soon,” she said. “You’re going to love it here at the Rescue Zoo. All of the other animals are really friendly.”

  Piper tilted her head to one side and cheeped.

  Zoe shook her head. “I’m afraid there aren’t any other puffins here. But there are lots of penguins. And there are hippos and elephants and pandas and otters… Oh, just you wait and see. It’s such a fun place to live.”

  Piper nodded but she still didn’t look very happy. But then Zoe never felt happy whenever she had a poorly tummy. As soon as Piper was feeling better she’d be a lot brighter, Zoe was sure. She turned round to look for Meep but there was no sign of the little lemur. He must have gone home to get warm after his bath, Zoe thought. Oh dear, she couldn’t wait for both Piper and Meep to be happy again!

  The next morning, Zoe made Meep a special breakfast. “Chopped strawberries and peaches,” she whispered to him as she put the bowl on the kitchen table.

  “Yum!” Meep chirped and began tucking in. “What are we doing today, Zoe?” he asked, popping three pieces of strawberry in his mouth all at once.

  “Today we’re going to do something really exciting,” Zoe said.

  “Cool! Are we going exploring?” Meep asked, waving his little paws in excitement.

  “Er, no…” Zoe replied.

  “Are we going to jump out of trees on top of the chimpanzees?” Meep asked hopefully, popping a piece of peach in his mouth.

  “No! We’re going to help Piper build a burrow,” Zoe explained. “Mum thinks she’s strong enough to leave the hospital now.”

  Meep wrinkled his tiny nose and pulled a face. “That sounds like a bit of a boring job.”

  “Come on, Meep, that’s not very nice,” Zoe whispered. “Piper needs a burrow to live in. And I think building it is going to be lots of fun.”

  “OK,” Meep sighed, throwing a piece of strawberry in the air and catching it in his mouth.

  There was a loud knock on the front door.

  “I’ll get it,” Lucy called from upstairs, where she was getting ready for work.

  A few moments later Great-Uncle Horace came striding into the room. Kiki was perched on his shoulder and he was holding a couple of trowels.

  “Good morning!” he boomed. “The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. It’s the perfect day for burrow-building.”

  “Are you going to be helping us build a burrow, Great-Uncle Horace?” Zoe said excitedly.

  “I certainly am,” Great-Uncle Horace replied. “Your mum’s needed back at the hospital.”

  “OK, I’ll be off then,” Lucy said, coming into the kitchen and picking up her coat. “Have fun burrow-building!”

  Once Zoe and Meep had finished their breakfast they walked through the zoo with Great-Uncle Horace. Zoe felt so happy to be spending some more time with her great-uncle. Normally he had to rush straight off to rescue another animal in need. As they went past each enclosure the animals called out excitedly. They all loved Great-Uncle Horace as much as Zoe did. After all, if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t be at the zoo!

  “Good morning, monkeys!” Great-Uncle Horace bellowed, as the monkeys swung from the branches of the trees, chattering excitedly.

  “Good morning, Shadow!” Great-Uncle Horace called, as they passed the wolf enclosure. “My, how you’ve grown.”

  Zoe smiled as she remembered how Great-Uncle Horace had brought Shadow to the zoo at Halloween when he was just a little pup. Shadow was much bigger now, and his fur was sleek and shiny in the sun.

  “Piper should be in her new enclosure by now,” Great-Uncle Horace said as they approached the penguin enclosure. “I asked Will to go and fetch her from the hospital and start settling her into her new home.”

  As the
y walked past the penguin enclosure Pip came waddling over to the fence.

  “Hello, Zoe,” he squawked. “I hear there’s a new puffin at the zoo.”

  Zoe nodded and smiled.

  “Goodness, is that Pip?” Great-Uncle Horace asked.

  Pip flapped his wings excitedly.

  “Yes,” Zoe replied, grinning as she remembered how small Pip had been when he’d first arrived.

  “Come and tell me all about the puffin soon,” Pip squawked.

  “I will,” Zoe whispered, and she hurried on after Great-Uncle Horace.

  “Here we are,” Great-Uncle Horace said as they reached the enclosure behind the penguins. There was a stream running through it, with wide, muddy banks. Pretty willow trees lined the stream, their branches dipping down into the water.

  “Oh, it’s lovely,” Zoe cried.

  Meep leapt from her shoulder and scrambled into one of the trees, jumping from branch to branch. The little lemur clearly loved the puffling’s new home as much as Zoe did. She hoped Piper would like it too. Zoe spotted Will by the stream. Piper was next to him, pecking curiously at the mud with her bright, stripy beak.

  “Good morning!” Great-Uncle Horace called to them. “Your burrow-builders have arrived.”

  “Hello!” Will smiled as they walked over.

  “How is she?” Zoe asked, looking at Piper. The little puffling flapped her wings.

  “Much better than yesterday,” Will replied. “Could you look after her while I go and feed the penguins?”

  “Of course!” Zoe crouched down on the bank next to Piper. “Hello,” she said with a smile as she gently stroked the puffling’s head. Piper flapped her wings even faster and this time she lifted off the ground.

  “Look, she’s flying!” Zoe exclaimed.

  “So she is,” Great-Uncle Horace replied with a chuckle.

  Piper flew round and round in a circle, then landed back on the ground.

  “She’s like a little feathery helicopter,” Zoe said with a giggle. She turned to see if Meep had seen but he was still busy jumping from tree to tree.

  “Right, let’s start digging,” Great-Uncle Horace said, kneeling down on the bank and starting to dig a hole with his trowel. “Normally puffins would make their burrows in the rocks but as we don’t have anywhere as rocky as Iceland here in the zoo we’ll make one in the ground instead.”

  Zoe and Piper stood and watched as Great-Uncle Horace started digging a burrow. “The burrows have to be just the right size,” he explained. “The puffins need to feel cosy and safe.”

  “This is going to be your new home,” Zoe whispered to Piper. “Do you like it?”

  Piper tilted her head to one side, as if she wasn’t sure.

  “Once the burrow’s finished we’ll get some straw to line it with, to make it nice and warm,” Great-Uncle Horace explained.

  “Can I do some digging?” Zoe asked.

  “Of course!” Great-Uncle Horace stepped back and let Zoe take over. “Be careful to dig nice and slowly though. If you dig too fast the hole might collapse and then we’ll have to start all over again.”

  As she carefully dug, Zoe imagined Piper tucked up all snuggly in her new burrow and she couldn’t stop smiling. She was definitely going to write about this in her school project!

  “OK, Zoe, I think that’s big enough,” Great-Uncle Horace said after a while. “Let’s see if she’ll go in.”

  They both stood back and watched as Piper looked at the burrow. She waddled a bit closer, gave a sad little cheep, then turned and walked away.

  “She doesn’t like it,” Zoe said, feeling really disappointed.

  “I told you she was picky,” Meep chirped from a nearby branch.

  “Maybe it’s too big,” Zoe said to Great-Uncle Horace.

  “Hmm, could be,” he replied.

  “I’m going to dig a smaller one.” Zoe heard Meep give a sigh as he swung off to another tree.

  In the end, Zoe dug several different burrows but every time the same thing happened. Piper would waddle over and inspect the burrow, then waddle off again without going inside. Zoe wished she was on her own with the little puffling, then she’d be able to talk to her and find out what was wrong.

  “Can we go and do something else now?” Meep said, scampering over.

  Zoe shook her head. She wasn’t going to leave here until Piper had a burrow she liked. She couldn’t bear the thought of the little puffling sleeping out in the cold.

  “I’m going to go and get some straw,” Great-Uncle Horace said. “Maybe that will do the trick.”

  As soon as Great-Uncle Horace had gone, Zoe turned to Piper. “What’s wrong?” she asked, crouching down beside her. “Why don’t you like any of the burrows?”

  But before Piper could reply Zoe heard a loud cough behind her.

  “And what, may I ask, is going on here?”

  Zoe turned to see Mr Pinch standing there, staring at the four freshly dug piles of mud.

  “Oh, we were just digging a burrow for the new puffling,” Zoe explained.

  “A burrow?” Mr Pinch snapped. “This doesn’t look like a burrow – it looks like a whole street of burrows! I’ve never seen such a mess.”

  “We were just trying to make one the right size,” Zoe said. “I’ll tidy up, I promise.”

  “Hmm.” Mr Pinch frowned and shook his head. “I’ll be coming back to check this afternoon.” And with that he turned and marched away.

  “OK.” Zoe’s heart sank as she saw Piper’s head droop. Why did Mr Pinch have to be so grumpy all the time? It was so annoying – especially when she was trying to make Piper feel welcome. Just then she saw Great-Uncle Horace making his way back with an armful of straw.

  “This’ll make your burrow so much cosier,” she whispered to Piper. “Just wait and see.”

  Zoe helped Great-Uncle Horace line each of the burrows with some straw. Then they turned to look at Piper.

  The puffling waddled closer and tilted her head to one side.

  “Aha!” Great-Uncle Horace cried. “I think this might just have done the trick.”

  “I bet she still doesn’t like them,” Meep called from a nearby tree.

  Zoe ignored him and continued watching Piper. The puffling waddled even closer to one of the burrows and took a good look inside.

  “Go on, Piper,” Zoe whispered.

  But the little puffling wouldn’t go any further. With a nervous squeal, she took a few steps back on her orange feet and shook her head firmly. Oh no! thought Zoe.

  Up on his branch, Meep let out a groan. “She’s the pickiest puffin I’ve ever seen! I’m not picky. I like everything!” He leapt into another tree. “I like bananas and strawberries and peaches and playing and jumping and being brave.”

  Zoe frowned at Meep. She wished she could tell him to stop showing off.

  “My word, Meep’s certainly full of beans,” Great-Uncle Horace chuckled.

  Zoe was very relieved that he couldn’t understand what Meep was saying.

  “Look at me, look how brave I am!” shouted Meep, swinging into the branches of the tree closest to them. “Look at— Aaaahh!”

  Meep was so busy calling down to Zoe that he’d stopped paying attention to what he was doing. His tiny fingers missed the branch and he tumbled to the ground! Zoe’s heart thumped, but luckily the nimble lemur landed safely – right next to where Piper was standing.

  With a frightened squeak, Piper darted away from Meep – right into the nearest burrow! She huddled inside the cosy hole, peering out anxiously.

  “Meep!” Zoe scooped the little lemur up into her arms. “That was very naughty,” she whispered in his ear so Great-Uncle Horace wouldn’t hear. “You could have really hurt yourself. And you really scared Piper!”

  Meep stared at Zoe. “But I made her go into her burrow!” he chattered indignantly. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  Zoe sighed. “Yes, I did,” she whispered. “But not like that!”

 
; Later that evening, Zoe put the finishing touches to her school project and showed it to her mum.

  “It sounds like you had lots of fun building the burrows,” Lucy said as she read it.

  “I did,” Zoe replied.

  “Tell her who made Piper go inside the burrow,” Meep said, jumping on to the table.

  Zoe frowned and shook her head. She was still a little cross about how Meep had behaved earlier.

  “Your teacher’s going to be so impressed with your work, Zoe,” said Lucy.

  “I hope so!” said Zoe. “I just wish…”

  “What?” asked Lucy.

  “Well, now that Piper is feeling better I wish my class could meet her,” Zoe explained. “They’d be so excited to meet a real-life baby puffling.”

  “Hmm, well, she did seem much better today…” Lucy said, looking thoughtful. “Maybe I could have a word with Miss Hawkins.”

  Zoe’s heart leapt with excitement. “You mean – ask if we can have a class trip to the zoo?”

  “I’ll have a chat with her tomorrow,” Lucy said. “I’m sure we can arrange something.”

  As Zoe jumped up to give her mum a hug, she heard Meep sigh. “All this fuss over a picky puffin,” he chattered. “What if she still doesn’t want to do anything? Your class will get so bored!”

  “I hope they get here soon!” said Zoe, bouncing up and down excitedly.

  It was three days later and Zoe was waiting impatiently at the zoo gates. Today was a school day – but Zoe had been allowed to come home at lunchtime as it was a special occasion. This afternoon Zoe’s class was paying a visit to the Rescue Zoo! Lucy had spoken to Zoe’s teacher, Miss Hawkins, and they’d arranged a special trip for them to visit Piper the puffling.

  “Do you think they’ll see my sign, Mum?”