The Scruffy Sea Otter Read online

  “I think those names are perfect,” said Lucy.

  Just as she said this, Sasha wriggled her body determinedly and plunged into the water with a splash. “She must have decided it was safe to give it a try!” Lucy laughed.

  Zoe watched as Sasha paddled after her brother and sister, but she wasn’t as fast as them and was struggling to keep up, despite squeaking hopefully at them to wait for her. The twins were floating on their backs close together, with their paws clasped, and didn’t seem to notice their little sister. Great-Uncle Horace saw Zoe’s anxious face and smiled reassuringly. “The twins have a very close bond,” he explained. “That means their little sister might get left out sometimes – but there’s no need to worry, Zoe. We’ve just been discussing how to make sure she settles in just as well as her big sister and brother.”

  Jess nodded. “Because the otters are so young, I’ll need to help encourage them to learn the important skills their mum would have shown them in the wild,” she explained. “Things like using tools, diving for food, and becoming even better, faster swimmers. Sasha will need extra time and attention, though, because she’s the smallest. So every day, I’ll spend a few hours supporting her, until she can keep up with the twins.”

  Zoe’s hand shot in the air. She didn’t even have to think it over – she already knew this was something she wanted to assist with if she could! “Can I help?” she pleaded. “I can come before school, and after school, and at the weekends. Please?”

  Jess grinned at her. “Thank you, Zoe. That would be great!” she replied. “You’re so good at helping new animals feel at home here. In fact, your job could be to take special care of Sasha – if your mum doesn’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” answered Lucy, smiling. “As long as you do all your homework first, Zoe. And you must do exactly as Jess tells you, especially when you’re around the water.”

  Zoe nodded. She felt so proud – and so excited too! “Can I start this afternoon?” she asked hopefully.

  “Of course! Just come and find me when you’re home from school,” Jess replied.

  “Speaking of school, we’d better get you back to the cottage so you can have breakfast and put on your uniform,” Lucy added.

  “And I must be off too,” explained Great-Uncle Horace. He caught the look of disappointment on Zoe’s face and added quickly, “Not for very long, I promise! But I’ve heard about some special swans a little bit further down the river and I’d love to see them. I’m going to sail my boat to where they’re nesting. I’ll be back at the zoo in a few days.”

  “And we’ve got a busy week ahead anyway, haven’t we, Zoe?” Lucy added as Zoe ran to give Great-Uncle Horace a hug. “Come on now – let’s go. I promise you can come back later!”

  “See you soon!” called Zoe, waving at Jess as she and her mum jumped back into the Jeep. As they drove back towards the cottage, with Meep cuddled in Zoe’s lap, Zoe felt a huge grin spreading across her face. She couldn’t wait to spend more time with the gorgeous baby otters!

  Chapter Four

  Zoe’s Special Visitors

  “Mum, I’m home!” called Zoe, rushing into the cottage that afternoon. She had spent the whole day at school thinking about the baby otters and telling her friends and teacher about them. She was so excited about getting home and heading straight for their enclosure!

  Zoe pulled her schoolbag off her shoulders, but then noticed two pairs of shoes that she didn’t recognise in the rack by the front door. There were some smart red high heels, and a small pair of sandals with a daisy pattern on them. Of course – Auntie Carol and Olivia are here! thought Zoe, smiling. That’s what Mum meant when she said we had a busy few days ahead. I’d completely forgotten that they were coming to stay!

  Hearing voices in the kitchen, Zoe ran through the door. Auntie Carol was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, chatting with Lucy. She had dark hair cut in a short bob, and red glasses. Zoe’s little cousin Olivia sat on her knee, her hair in pigtails, clutching a very threadbare teddy bear in her tiny hands. Meep was perched by the fruit bowl, sneakily helping himself to a banana.

  “Zoe!” cried Auntie Carol, smiling. “How’s my favourite niece? Olivia’s been so excited about seeing you.”

  “Hi, Auntie Carol!” said Zoe, rushing over to hug them both. “Hi, Olivia. When did you get here?”

  “At lunchtime,” explained Auntie Carol. “And we seem to have picked a good week to come. Your mum’s been telling us all about your new sea otters – how exciting! I hear you’re going to be taking special care of the littlest one.”

  “I thought we could all walk over to the otter enclosure together, before tea,” suggested Lucy.

  “That would be great!” said Zoe. She grinned at her little cousin. “Do you like animals, Olivia?”

  Olivia beamed back and nodded enthusiastically. Zoe thought she was almost as cute as the baby otters she’d met that morning, with her big blue eyes and smiley face. “I like Meep best!” Olivia told Zoe. “I want to hug him!”

  Zoe giggled as Meep grumbled to himself. Olivia was only three years old, and the last time she and Auntie Carol had visited, she had squeezed poor Meep so tightly that he’d scampered upstairs to Zoe’s bedroom and hidden under the bed until their visitors left.

  Zoe quickly went to change out of her school uniform into jeans and a T-shirt, and then they all walked through the zoo together. Zoe and her mum pointed out different animals to Auntie Carol and Olivia along the way. “Those are the emperor penguins. Look at the funny way they waddle along!” Zoe told her little cousin, who jumped up and down excitedly, her teddy still clutched in her hands. “And the giraffes are over there. Their necks are really long, aren’t they?”

  “Eddie wants to see too,” Olivia told her, holding her teddy bear out.

  Zoe took the teddy and lifted him up high, as if to peer over the fence, before returning him to Olivia. Auntie Carol and Lucy chuckled. “I bought Eddie for Olivia before she was even born,” Auntie Carol explained, nodding at the bear. “He’s a very special bear. He comes everywhere with us – that’s why he’s a little bit tattered!”

  Jess was already inside the enclosure, but instead of her normal zoo keeper’s uniform, she was dressed in a blue wetsuit. She waved when she saw Zoe and Lucy approaching. She was sitting on the edge of the saltwater pool with her legs dangling in the water, watching Nina and Alex swim along together.

  Jess reached into a bucket next to the pool, scooped up a handful of small silver fish and let them drop into the water. As the fish sank to the bottom of the pool, the twins rolled forward and plunged underwater, chasing after them. “Look how good they are at diving for food,” called Jess, smiling.

  Zoe could tell that Olivia loved the gorgeous little otters. She was staring at them, her eyes wide and excited. Then Olivia caught sight of Sasha, perched on a rock at the edge of the pool, and gasped.

  “That’s Sasha! She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Zoe said.

  “Can I hold her?” Olivia asked eagerly.

  “Well, we don’t usually pick up the wild animals because they aren’t used to it and might not like it,” Zoe explained gently. “Anyway, you’re busy holding Eddie and you wouldn’t want to put him down on the floor. He might get wet!”

  Olivia nodded in agreement and gave Eddie a cuddle.

  Zoe looked back at Sasha and thought she seemed a little bit sad. “Has Sasha tried diving for food yet?” she asked Jess, walking over to the pool.

  “Not yet,” replied Jess. “We’ll need to bottle feed her for a bit longer, until she’s a stronger swimmer and feels more at home here. We can definitely help her with her swimming though – in fact, now that you’re here, we can give her a special lesson! First of all, you’ll need this.”

  Jess reached behind her and pulled out a bag, tied with a ribbon. She passed it to Zoe, who opened it up carefully. “Your great-uncle asked me to buy it specially for you!” added Jess.

  A thrill of excitement
went through Zoe as she pulled out a ball of stretchy, shiny blue material. “A wetsuit, just like yours!” she exclaimed, unrolling the material and holding it up. “But it’s the perfect size for me! Can I put it on now?”

  “As long as your mum says it’s OK?” said Jess, glancing at Lucy. “You’ve got some guests, haven’t you?”

  “No problem!” Lucy replied, smiling. “I bet your cousin would love to see your special suit, Zoe. What a lovely present, eh? I’ll help you to put it on though. Wetsuits can be really tricky if you’re not used to them.”

  “You can get changed in the equipment room,” said Jess, nodding to a small wooden hut at the edge of the enclosure. “I hope it fits!”

  Inside the room, Zoe wriggled out of her clothes and pulled the wetsuit over her feet. “Actually, I think it’s too small for me!” she gasped, struggling to squeeze the stretchy fabric over her legs. “I need a bigger size!”

  “No, you don’t! That’s how wetsuits are supposed to fit, Zoe,” Lucy explained as she helped Zoe wriggle into the rubbery suit. “They’re always tight. That’s how they keep you warm when you’re spending lots of time in cold water. They trap a very thin layer of water between the suit and your body, which warms up and keeps you nice and toasty.”

  With a final wriggle from Zoe, Jess zipped up the back of the suit. “There, you’re all ready!”

  Zoe couldn’t wait to get started. She was going to swim with three adorable baby otters! But when she stepped back outside the hut, she saw that Jess, Auntie Carol and Olivia had been joined by a new person in the enclosure – Mr Pinch, the grumpy zoo manager.

  “What’s going on?” Mr Pinch asked with a frown. “I heard that some new animals had arrived at the zoo, so I’ve come to make sure everything is under control. I didn’t expect to see so many people here!”

  “Oh, I hope we’re not causing any trouble,” said Auntie Carol.

  “Mr Pinch, this is my sister and my niece,” Lucy explained. “They’re just visiting the zoo for a few days and wanted to see the new arrivals.”

  “Well, I hope the children aren’t getting underfoot,” Mr Pinch muttered, throwing a grumpy glance at little Olivia. “If they make any mess, no doubt it will be left to me to clean it up!”

  Zoe managed to hold her tongue, but she heard an angry chatter from Meep. Mr Pinch always grumbled about Zoe wandering around the zoo, saying that only real zoo keepers should work with the animals, and not children. Zoe thought this was very unfair, since she always tried her best to help out. Still, she never argued back. When Great-Uncle Horace was away, Mr Pinch was officially in charge of the zoo.

  “Perhaps we’d better take Olivia back to the cottage and find her a snack?” suggested Lucy, and Auntie Carol nodded. “We’ll make a start on dinner too. But Zoe does have a special job to do here, Mr Pinch, so I hope you don’t mind if she stays for a little while.”

  “She’ll be doing me a big favour, Mr Pinch!” added Jess, smiling at Zoe.

  Just then, the walkie-talkie attached to Mr Pinch’s uniform crackled. “Mr Pinch, come in, please!” came the voice of David, who worked in the elephant enclosure. “There’s a lady here from the local paper, looking for you. She wants to run a story about some of our newer arrivals. Can you come and speak to her?”

  “Oh, very well. As if I’m not busy enough!” Mr Pinch groaned, and marched off in the direction of the elephant enclosure.

  “Phew!” chuckled Jess. “That should keep Mr Pinch busy for a little while!”

  Once Lucy and Auntie Carol had taken Olivia back to the cottage, Zoe sat down by the edge of the pool with Jess, who showed her how to slowly ease her legs into the water and get used to the chilly temperature. Finally, Jess counted to three and Zoe took a deep breath and jumped in. She was a good swimmer, but the cold water only came up to her chest so she could easily touch the bottom of the pool. As the cold water rushed inside her wetsuit, she kicked her legs hard to get warm. Immediately, Nina and Alex wriggled over to her, and Zoe laughed as they nuzzled up to her with their whiskery noses. She heard a little squeak behind her, turned and saw that Sasha was jumping in too!

  “That’s a good sign!” called Jess. “Sasha seems interested in you, Zoe – as soon as you got in the pool, she wanted to come swimming too! Stay close to her so she feels safe and supported. She might also like to try floating on her back.”

  Sasha paddled close to Zoe, her fur sticking up in funny spikes and tufts. Zoe started swimming slowly around the pool, all the time checking that Sasha was still with her. When Jess went to fetch some toys for the otters to play with, Zoe took the opportunity to whisper to the tiny pup. “You’re doing so well!” she said. “Do you want to try diving underwater?”

  Sasha squealed in agreement and plunged her head under the surface, wriggling her body. But she couldn’t get very far and quickly came back up, spluttering and squeaking crossly. “That’s OK, Sasha. Every time you try it, you’ll get better and better,” Zoe reassured her.

  Sasha squeaked again, hopefully this time, and nodded her little head at the plastic bucket on the side of the pool. “You want me to get you a fish?” repeated Zoe.

  Right at that moment, Alex and Nina popped their heads out of the water, each of them holding a shiny silver fish in their teeth. Sasha gave a sad little wail. “Sasha, what’s wrong?” Zoe asked anxiously. “Why are you so upset?”

  Sasha nuzzled against Zoe for a cuddle and gave a tiny squeak. “Oh, Sasha! That’s not true. Alex and Nina aren’t better than you – they’re just older,” explained Zoe. “They’ve had much more time to practise swimming and diving. I promise you’ll be able to do it just as easily as them, but you have to be a bit patient.”

  Sasha gave another sad squeak, and Zoe shook her head. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed of your sticky-up fur!” she said. “I know Alex and Nina’s fur is very soft and sleek, but I’ll tell you a secret – I think yours is much nicer. It’s a bit like my hair – look! My curls stick up too!”

  But Sasha still seemed downhearted, and when Jess arrived back at the pool with her arms full of balls to play with, the little pup wriggled out of the pool and huddled down on a rock by herself. Zoe felt awful for her new friend. I’m going to help Sasha in any way I can, she thought to herself. But how?

  Chapter Five

  Mr Pinch’s Plan

  “But I don’t want to go to bed!”

  It was Tuesday evening and Zoe was helping Auntie Carol to get Olivia ready for bed – but it was turning out to be more difficult than Zoe had imagined! Olivia had put on her spotty pyjamas, drunk her cup of warm milk and brushed her teeth, but she did not want to go up to bed – no matter how hard Auntie Carol and Zoe tried to persuade her.

  “Zoe can stay up late! Why can’t I?” she complained, stamping her little feet on the kitchen floor. “I’m a big girl too!”

  Zoe held out her hand and smiled at her little cousin. “Yes, you are! And when you’re even bigger, you’ll be able to stay up a bit later, like me. Come on, let’s go up to your bedroom together,” she suggested. “We can pick a story and I’ll read it to you! And Eddie can listen too,” she added, picking up Olivia’s tattered teddy from the floor, where Olivia had thrown him.

  Olivia flung Eddie straight back down again, only just missing Meep. Zoe tried not to laugh as the little lemur scampered quickly to the kitchen window and hid behind the curtain, his cross little face peeping out. “I’m staying right here until Olivia goes to bed!” he squeaked firmly.

  “I don’t want a story!” grumbled Olivia. “I want to stay up!”

  Auntie Carol sighed, but Zoe suddenly had an idea. “OK, Olivia!” she replied, smiling. “You can stay up. In fact, you’re not allowed to go to bed! Not until you’ve played a special game with me. How does that sound?”

  Olivia’s face lit up and she nodded.

  “First of all, you’ve got to do ten star jumps!” Zoe told her. “I’ll count. Ready? One … two … three…”

  Giggling
, Olivia reached her hands up in the air and started jumping. “Next I want you to twirl around in a circle three times!” said Zoe. “Then tell me your ten favourite colours… And then do a roly-poly along the hallway carpet!”

  Auntie Carol watched, chuckling, as Olivia followed Zoe’s instructions, her tongue sticking out in concentration. By the time she had touched her toes three times, the little girl was yawning sleepily, and seemed to have forgotten all about her tantrum earlier.

  “Thanks, Zoe,” whispered Auntie Carol as she carried Olivia upstairs to the spare bedroom. “That worked brilliantly!”

  Once Olivia was sleeping, Zoe sat down at the kitchen table to eat dinner with her mum and Auntie Carol. As Lucy served the lasagne, she smiled at Zoe. “Jess tells me you’re doing a fantastic job with the otters – especially Sasha. It sounds like they’re settling in really well, just in time for the first special show.”

  “What show?” asked Zoe.

  “Oh, I thought Jess would have mentioned it,” said Lucy. “Well, this is all down to an idea Mr Pinch had last week.”

  Zoe pulled a face at the mention of the zoo manager. “Come on now, Zoe!” her mum went on. “I know Mr Pinch can be difficult sometimes, but this is a good idea. It’s to help the zoo make a little bit more money. Every month, we’ll choose a different animal to be the zoo’s special focus. We’ll put up posters, sell toys and books about those animals in the gift shop, and put on a show twice a day where the keeper tells the visitors all about that animal. Mr Pinch thought that the otters could be the first special animals, seeing as they’re our newest arrivals. The first show’s going to be in a few days’ time.”