The Picky Puffin Read online

  Lucy smiled at the banner Zoe had made the night before. It was pinned to the zoo gates, and said in big, rainbow-coloured letters: MISS HAWKINS’ CLASS – THIS WAY TO THE PUFFIN! “I don’t think they’ll be able to miss it, Zoe,” she replied.

  Meep, who was perched on top of the gate, gave a snort. “I still don’t understand why your class is coming all this way to see the pickiest puffin in the whole world,” he muttered.

  “Shh!” Zoe whispered, shaking her head at the little lemur. She hoped that Meep would be good when her class arrived.

  From down the street, Zoe heard an excited shout. “Look, there’s the zoo gate! And there’s Zoe!”

  Zoe grinned and waved as her class appeared, all chatting excitedly about their trip. “Hi, everyone,” she called.

  “Welcome to the Rescue Zoo,” Lucy said with a smile.

  “Thank you for having us,” Miss Hawkins replied. “What a treat this is. You know, I’ve never seen a real puffin before, so I can’t wait to meet my very first!”

  “But have you even seen a mouse lemur before?” Meep yelped, running along the top of the fence.

  “Oh, look at that tiny monkey!” cried Thea, one of Zoe’s schoolfriends. “He’s chattering away like he’s talking.”

  “That’s Meep. He’s actually a grey mouse lemur,” explained Zoe. “Although lemurs are related to monkeys.”

  “I think he’s even cuter than a monkey,” added another of Zoe’s friends, Jack.

  “I’ve got to get a picture of him,” Thea said, taking a camera from her school bag. “He’s so sweet.”

  Meep’s face brightened as one by one Zoe’s classmates took pictures of him.

  “Let’s go and see Piper the puffin,” Zoe said after a few minutes. She couldn’t wait for her class to meet the zoo’s new arrival. “Follow me.”

  When they got to Piper’s enclosure the tiny puffling was huddled inside her burrow. She poked her black-capped head out as the crowd of children lined up by the fence.

  “Here we are,” said Zoe. “This is Piper’s new home and that’s the burrow I built for her with my Great-Uncle Horace.”

  Zoe’s classmates gasped as they saw the little bird. “Wow, Zoe. She’s so teeny!” cried Zoe’s friend Louis.

  “Yes, she’s still very young,” said Zoe.

  “I love her stripy beak,” Jack said.

  “Me too,” said Zoe.

  “She looks sad,” said Thea. “Is she OK?”

  Zoe looked at the little puffling and realised that Thea was right. Piper did look sad. “She has been quite poorly but she’s getting better,” she explained. “Perhaps she’s feeling hungry. Mum, can we try to give Piper some food?”

  “Of course.” Lucy unlocked the gate of the enclosure and walked inside. She fetched a small bucket of herring from a little store cupboard at the back. Piper had started eating again now, although she was still quite picky about which fish she ate.

  Zoe crossed her fingers as Lucy held out a fish to the little puffling. Piper gave it a sniff, then turned away.

  “Oh no!” cried Zoe’s friend Nicola. “She doesn’t like it.”

  “Maybe she’d prefer another kind of fish?” suggested Louis.

  “Maybe she doesn’t like fish at all. I don’t like it very much, except fish fingers,” said Jack.

  “I told you,” chattered Meep, who was sitting on a nearby branch. “She’s picky!”

  The cheeky lemur leapt from his branch on to the top of the fence and scampered nimbly along it, right in front of Zoe’s class. “Look at me instead!” he chirped, sticking out his little tongue and waving his paws. “I’m loads of fun.”

  Zoe’s classmates started to giggle.

  “He’s so funny!” chuckled Jack.

  “He really is,” Miss Hawkins said. “Perhaps if the puffin isn’t feeling very well, you could tell us a bit about this little chap instead?”

  Zoe frowned at Meep. The cheeky little lemur was taking all the limelight from Piper – on purpose! But she knew she couldn’t talk to Meep now, with all her class and her teacher listening. “Of course,” she replied. “Well, Meep’s special because grey mouse lemurs are only found on the island of Madagascar. They’re one of the smallest primates in the whole world – the size of a mouse, which is where the name ‘grey mouse lemur’ comes from. He loves all types of fruit, and he also eats seeds, flowers and nectar.”

  As Zoe talked about Meep the little lemur pranced up and down the fence importantly and Piper shuffled back into her burrow. Zoe’s heart sank. She’d hoped that the puffling would enjoy a visit from Zoe’s friends, but she seemed even sadder!

  Soon it was time for the class to go home.

  “All of your parents will be picking you up at the zoo gates so we’d better not keep them waiting,” Miss Hawkins said. “And tomorrow morning I want everyone to write a poem about our visit to the zoo and the fascinating animals we’ve seen. Thank you so much, Zoe and Mrs Parker!”

  As the class called goodbye and made their way back through the zoo, Meep leapt on to Zoe’s shoulder. “That was great, wasn’t it?” he chirped happily. “I really saved the day, didn’t I, when Piper was being boring?”

  “Meep!” hissed Zoe. “Piper isn’t boring. She’s just not very happy. And you didn’t help by showing off.”

  Meep stared at Zoe. Then he jumped from her shoulder and scampered away. For a moment, Zoe thought about running after him, but then she decided against it. Meep has to learn not to show off so much, she thought.

  “Do you want to try and feed Piper while I go and check in at the hospital?” Lucy asked. “She might want to eat now that there aren’t so many people around.”

  “Of course,” Zoe replied. She took the bucket of herring from her mum and went over to Piper’s burrow.

  “Hey, Piper, are you hungry?” she called.

  Piper poked her head out of the burrow and looked at Zoe.

  “It’s OK, everyone else has gone,” Zoe reassured her.

  The little puffling shuffled out and gave her wings a quick flap.

  “Would you like some herring?” Zoe asked.

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

  “What is it, Piper? What’s wrong?”

  Piper opened her brightly coloured beak and started to cheep.

  “It’s not like the fish you ate back at home?” Zoe said.

  Piper shook her head. The poor little puffling looked so sad.

  “I bet you must really be missing your home,” Zoe said.

  Piper gave a squawk and nodded.

  “Sometimes it’s nice to try new things though,” Zoe said. “Just because it’s different it doesn’t mean you won’t like it.” She held a herring close to Piper’s beak. “Go on, why don’t you give it a try?”

  Piper tilted her head to one side but just as Zoe thought she was about to say no again, Piper opened her beak wide and gobbled up the herring whole.

  “Well?” Zoe said with a smile. “What do you think?”

  Piper chirped happily and Zoe grinned. “I told you! Would you like another one?”

  Piper nodded and flapped her wings.

  When Zoe got back to the cottage that evening, Meep wasn’t in his usual spot, waiting for her by the front door. “Where’s Meep?” she asked Lucy, who was cooking dinner in the kitchen.

  “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him since this afternoon,” Lucy replied.

  Zoe looked all around the house for the little lemur, checking his favourite places, like the bowl of bananas on the windowsill and the cosy armchair in the living room, where Meep liked to curl up and snooze. Finally she tried her bedroom.

  As she pushed open the door, she spotted Meep on top of her wardrobe. He was huddled up in a furry ball, his arms crossed sulkily.

  “Meep, what are you doing up there?” said Zoe gently. “Why don’t you come down?”

  Meep ignored her. “Meep, it’s almost dinnertime,” Zoe reminded him. Meep loved eating mo
re than anything! “There are some lovely ripe bananas downstairs, and some fresh blueberries, and a big packet of your favourite sunflower seeds.”

  Zoe saw Meep hesitate for a moment, but then the little lemur shook his head firmly. “I don’t like any of those things,” he squeaked, turning away from her. “I’m picky picky picky. Just like Piper the puffin!”

  When Zoe went to bed that night, Meep was still on top of the wardrobe. Zoe couldn’t remember a night when Meep hadn’t gone to sleep cuddled up by her feet. She slipped under the covers and switched off the light. Without Meep’s small, warm, furry body at the foot of the bed, it felt very empty and lonely.

  Wait a minute, she thought suddenly. I’m feeling sad because I’m missing Meep – my best friend. Could that be the reason Piper is so sad? What if she’s missing her puffin friends as well as her home? Zoe thought of Piper’s enclosure. It was so lovely and peaceful with its cosy burrow and pretty trees – but it was missing one important thing. Friends!

  That’s it! Zoe thought. I need to find Piper some friends – and fast!

  When her mum called her for breakfast the next morning, Zoe checked the end of her bed for Meep. She’d been hoping he’d come down in the night but he was still on top of the wardrobe.

  “It’s breakfast time, Meep,” she called up to him. “Are you coming down?”

  The little lemur crossed his arms and shook his head.

  “But you love breakfast!” Zoe exclaimed. “Don’t you want to have some fruit? How about some tasty raisins?”

  But Meep refused to move.

  Zoe sighed. Maybe if she went downstairs Meep would get hungry and come and join her. And she needed to go and see her mum; she wanted to tell her about the idea she’d had just before falling asleep last night. Zoe hurried downstairs and burst into the kitchen.

  “Goodness, Zoe, you’re very excited about breakfast!” Lucy joked as she poured her a bowl of cereal and put it on the kitchen table.

  “Mum, I’ve had an idea!” Zoe said breathlessly. “I think Piper is unhappy because she’s lonely. We need to find her some friends.”

  Lucy nodded thoughtfully. “You could be right, Zoe. Puffins are very sociable birds, after all – they like living in groups. But there are no other puffins at the Rescue Zoo for Piper to live with. She’s the only one.”

  “Who’s the only one?” a voice boomed, and Great-Uncle Horace walked in. He was wearing his long coat and scarf, and Kiki was perched on his shoulder.

  “Great-Uncle Horace!” Zoe exclaimed. “We were just talking about Piper. I think she’s feeling really lonely being the only puffin at the zoo.”

  “Is that so?” Great-Uncle Horace sat down and Kiki hopped on to the table. “Well now, this is very interesting indeed.”

  Zoe waited for him to say something else but Great-Uncle Horace kept quiet, his bright eyes twinkling.

  “Maybe we should ask Will to put her in with some of the other sea birds,” Lucy suggested.

  “Maybe…” Great-Uncle Horace said. “Or maybe we could turn some unhappy news into a happy ending.”

  Zoe stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Kiki, we have work to do!” Great-Uncle Horace snapped his fingers and Kiki hopped back on to his shoulder. “We were about to go on a mission to Outer Mongolia to study the eating habits of the long-horned antelope but first we have something to organise.” Great-Uncle Horace got to his feet and rushed out of the room.

  “What was that about?” Zoe asked, puzzled.

  “I have no idea!” Lucy replied.

  “So shall I go and ask Will if we could try introducing Piper to the penguins?” Zoe asked.

  Lucy nodded.

  When Zoe got to the penguin enclosure she found Will feeding the birds their breakfast from a big bucket of fish.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Will said when Zoe told him her plan.

  “So do I!” Pip chirped, flapping his wings excitedly. “I can’t wait to meet a puffin. I’d love to be her friend.”

  Zoe hurried round to Piper’s enclosure. The little puffling was standing by the side of the stream, looking down into the water.

  “Piper, I’ve got some great news!” she said. “I’ve found you a new friend.”

  Piper tilted her head to one side and cheeped.

  “No, he isn’t a puffin,” Zoe replied. “He’s a penguin but I’m sure you’ll really like him. Come on, I’ll take you to see him now.”

  She crouched down beside Piper and very gently cupped the little bird in her hands.

  But as Zoe carried Piper into the penguin enclosure, the little puffling began chirping nervously, and shuffled into a corner as soon as Zoe put her down. The other birds cheeped a friendly greeting, and Pip even brought a fish over for Piper – but Zoe could see that the tiny puffin still wasn’t happy.

  “What’s wrong?” Zoe whispered, stroking Piper’s silky feathers.

  Piper hung her head and gave a sad little cheep.

  “You’re missing your puffin friends?” Zoe said.

  Piper nodded.

  “Oh, Piper, I’m sorry.” Zoe picked up the puffling and gave her a gentle hug.

  Once Zoe had returned Piper to her enclosure she made her way back through the zoo. There must be something she could do to make Piper feel happier. There must be some way of helping her make new friends. Then she saw Great-Uncle Horace striding towards her, Kiki flying in circles above his head.

  “Zoe, I have news!” he called.

  Zoe ran to meet him. “What is it, Great-Uncle Horace?”

  “There have been some terrible storms at sea recently, which have led to a lot of puffins being washed up on the coast. Obviously that’s very sad news,” he added. “But the better news is that a lot of puffins have been taken to a sea-life rescue centre just a few miles from here. Too many puffins, in fact.”

  “What do you mean, too many?” Zoe asked.

  “Well, the sea-life centre is struggling to cope. So I just phoned them and told them that we would be happy to help, seeing as they have too many puffins and we don’t have enough.”

  “Does that mean…” Zoe looked at him excitedly.

  “We’re taking some of the puffins off their hands,” Great-Uncle Horace announced. “They’re arriving tomorrow and then Piper shall have all the friends she needs.”

  “Great-Uncle Horace, that is excellent news!” Zoe exclaimed, giving him a hug.

  Just then, she spotted a group of children walking through the zoo wearing party hats and carrying balloons. A brilliant idea popped into her head. “We could have a party!” she said, and her eyes opened wide. “A puffin party for Piper and her new friends when they arrive. It could be a surprise. We could invite all the zoo keepers and Great-Uncle Horace, and we could even ask my teacher and the children from my class.”

  And, she thought to herself, a party might cheer up Meep too.

  When she got back home Zoe ran straight up to her bedroom. “Meep, you have to come down!” she called to the top of her wardrobe.

  A pair of ears appeared over the edge of the wardrobe door, followed by two large golden eyes and a little nose. “What do you want?” Meep sniffed.

  “I need your help. We’re going to throw a party for Piper. A surprise puffin party!” explained Zoe. “We’ll have balloons and games and all your favourite party food. And we can play party games too. What games would you like to play, Meep?”

  “How about ‘hide the puffin’?” Meep said grumpily.

  Zoe put her hands on her hips and looked at Meep very seriously. “Meep, I just don’t understand why you’re behaving like this,” she said. “Poor Piper hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s not her fault that she’s feeling sad and lonely, is it?”

  Meep scowled. “I don’t know why she’s feeling sad and lonely when she’s stolen my best friend!” he answered crossly. “I’m the one who should be feeling sad, not her!”

  Zoe stared at the little lemur. “Meep, what are you talking a
bout?”

  “I know you like Piper best now,” muttered Meep. “You picked her to do your project on, instead of me. You invited all your schoolfriends to come to the zoo to see her, instead of me.”

  “Oh, Meep,” Zoe said. “You don’t think I like Piper better than you, do you?”

  Meep nodded miserably.

  Zoe couldn’t help laughing. So this was why Meep had been acting so strangely recently. He wasn’t being mean, he was worried Zoe didn’t love him any more. “Meep, you’ve got this all wrong! You’re my best friend – and you always will be. I just wanted to help Piper settle in and find some friends of her own. And I’d like us to be her friends, Meep. But you’re still my favourite friend of all.”

  “Really? Do you promise?” Meep chirped, peering down from the wardrobe.

  “I promise!” said Zoe, grinning as the little lemur jumped down and into her arms for a big cuddle.

  “It’s puffin party time!” said Zoe excitedly.

  It was Saturday and Zoe had just made the final touches to the decorations. Bright-orange balloons to match Piper’s feet were strung up at the entrance to the enclosure, bobbing gently in the breeze. A colourful, stripy tablecloth to match Piper’s beak had been spread over a table just outside the enclosure. It was covered with party food. There were sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes, biscuits, and a big bowl of fruit for Meep. Next to the table was a bucket filled with shiny silver herring, an orange ribbon tied to the handle.

  All the guests were waiting by the gate to the enclosure. Zoe saw her teacher and some of her schoolfriends, as well as lots of the zoo keepers. Great-Uncle Horace was welcoming everyone, while Lucy was handing out drinks. Even Mr Pinch had turned up, though he was looking at the table of food very suspiciously. “Sandwiches! I hate sandwiches,” he muttered. “They make so many crumbs!”