The Playful Panda Read online

  Zoe emptied out the backpack and let Chi Chi wriggle inside. Taking a deep breath, she crept towards the gate, trying to stay hidden behind trees and huge bamboo plants so that the crowd wouldn’t notice her. “It’s lucky the enclosure is still so wild and overgrown!” she whispered to Meep.

  Just then one of the reporters shouted, “I think I can see them! Over there, by that wooden platform!”

  As the crowd was distracted, Zoe slipped out of the gate and back on to the path. Just as she was about to start searching, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Zoe!” said a relieved voice. “Just the person I was hoping to see. How was school today?”

  Zoe whirled round. “Mum!” she stammered, desperately hoping Lucy wouldn’t ask what was in her backpack, or see it wriggling. “Er – school was fine.”

  “Listen, love, I need you to help me,” said Lucy. “I was on my way to the gazelle enclosure with some medicine for Gordon’s poorly tummy, but I’ve just had an urgent call on my walkie-talkie. One of the brown bear cubs has a thorn stuck in his paw and I need to take him straight to the zoo hospital. The poor little thing’s very upset! Could you take the medicine instead?” She pulled a small bottle from the special vet bag she always carried, and passed it to Zoe.

  Zoe’s heart sank, but she nodded. As Lucy hurried off, Zoe whispered urgently to Meep, “Start telling all the animals about the missing cub. Ask them to help spread the word! Oscar can sound the alarm with his giant trunk, and the birds can fly around and search from the sky. We’ll meet back here in five minutes. There’s no time to lose!”

  Chapter Nine

  The Search is On

  Zoe didn’t think she’d ever run so fast. Clutching the medicine in one hand, she raced through the zoo, dodging and weaving past visitors. She could feel the backpack bumping against her back as she sped along, and hoped she wasn’t making Chi Chi dizzy. “Excuse me!” she panted breathlessly. “Animal emergency!”

  Her heart was thumping hard in her chest when she reached the grassy plain next to the lake, where the gazelles grazed. “Ah, Zoe!” called the gazelle keeper, waving. “Your mum said you’d be bringing—”

  “Really sorry!” Zoe gasped, flinging the bottle into his hands and sprinting off again. “Can’t stop now!”

  Zoe raced around the zoo, calling out to the animals. The news of the escaped cub was spreading quickly. The zebras stamped their hooves and whinnied the message to their neighbours, the alpine hares. The flamingos flapped their wings and hooted to the wolves, who howled so loudly that every animal in the zoo could hear them. The warthogs snuffled around in their cool mud holes to make sure Mei Mei wasn’t there. The baboons checked in the bushes, and one of the crocodiles politely asked Zoe what the missing panda looked like. Zoe unzipped her backpack so Chi Chi could peep out. “Exactly like this!” she replied, holding the little cub up in the air. But it was no good, no one had seen Mei Mei.

  They were almost back at the panda enclosure when Meep came scampering round the corner to meet them. “Everyone’s looking for Mei Mei but there’s no sign of her anywhere,” he chattered. “What shall we do next?”

  Zoe bit her lip and thought. “Let’s go back to the enclosure again,” she suggested. “We’ll look for paw prints near the hole in the fence, or any other clue that might lead us to Mei Mei.”

  Chi Chi squeaked eagerly in agreement. Zoe zipped up her backpack and they crept along to the panda enclosure. There was a grumble of voices as they arrived. The crowd was getting restless and cross. Zoe saw the reporter with the glasses check his watch and shake his head. “How long do we have to wait to see these pandas?” he complained.

  Suddenly a blur of deep-blue feathers swooped past his head, making him jump. Kiki landed on top of the fence and fluttered her wings as Great-Uncle Horace strolled down the path, crunching on a custard cream. “Good afternoon, everyone!” he called cheerily, tipping his explorer’s hat to the crowd. “It’s wonderful that you’ve all come to meet our special new arrivals!”

  One of the reporters sighed loudly. “Well, we haven’t met them yet,” he moaned. “We haven’t even caught a glimpse of them. I’m going home if they don’t show up soon!”

  “Oh, what a pity,” Great-Uncle Horace said with concern. “You really must wait and see them. Pandas are so rare, especially twins.” He smiled brightly at the man. “Did you know that in China they are called ‘giant bear cats’? Some people also call them ‘bamboo bears’. Fascinating!”

  The crowd gathered round Great-Uncle Horace as he began telling them all about pandas. Even the grumpy reporter looked interested. Zoe knew he’d only be distracted for a few minutes though. She had to find Mei Mei and get both cubs back into their home – fast!

  Quietly, she tiptoed round the outside of the enclosure until she found where the hole in the fence was hidden. Chi Chi started wriggling so much in the backpack that Zoe let her out. Together, Zoe, Meep and Chi Chi all began looking around for any sign of Mei Mei. Then Chi Chi squealed eagerly.

  “What have you found, Chi Chi?” chirped Meep, hopping up and down.

  Chi Chi lifted her paw and pointed. A wisp of white fluff was caught on the branch of a tall oak tree, just outside the enclosure. With an excited squeak, Chi Chi scampered up the tree.

  “Chi Chi!” Zoe called in a loud whisper. It was just like naughty Chi Chi to run off when they needed her! The little panda disappeared up the tree trunk and was soon invisible among the branches. Zoe sighed. Instead of finding one panda, now she’d lost two!

  “Chi Chi!” she whispered again.

  Suddenly there was a suspicious voice behind her. “Just what do you think you are doing, Miss Parker?”

  Chapter Ten

  Friends Forever

  “Mr Pinch!” Zoe stammered, feeling her cheeks flush pink. Carefully she stepped to one side so that the zoo manager couldn’t see the hole in the fence. “I was just…er …looking for the pandas.” She peered into the enclosure. “I thought I might be able to see them from this side of the enclosure, but I, um, can’t.”

  The grumpy zoo manager glared at her. “Well, I’m looking for them myself,” he told her bossily. “The crowd is fed up of waiting and I won’t let those two little pests spoil the special event! They have to be around here somewhere.” He peered into the enclosure and added crossly, “There are just so many of these big clumps of bamboo that they could have hidden behind!”

  Zoe glanced up at the tree. Chi Chi’s black and white face peered out from the branches. Then next to her there was a flash of black and white, and another face appeared. There wasn’t just one baby panda in the tree, but two! Chi Chi had found Mei Mei!

  Zoe had to hide her grin as Mr Pinch looked at her curiously.

  There was another rustling sound from inside the tree, and a high, happy squeaking sound. Mr Pinch looked around, puzzled. “Can you hear that? There’s definitely a panda close by!” he muttered.

  Zoe looked at Meep desperately. “We can’t let Mr Pinch see that the cubs are out of their enclosure!” she whispered. “Can you distract him?”

  Meep’s little face lit up. “I can be just as cheeky as Chi Chi!” he told her proudly.

  With a nimble leap he sprang over to the zoo manager. It had rained that morning and there was a muddy puddle next to him. With a gleeful chirp, Meep leaped into it, splashing mud on the zoo manager’s shiny shoes.

  Mr Pinch stared down at the mess in disbelief. “I polished my shoes this morning!” he spluttered. “You little nuisance! I’ll have to clean these before the reporters see.” He shook his head crossly and pointed a finger at Zoe. “If those pesky pandas haven’t appeared by the time I back, I’m going into the enclosure and I’ll search every inch until I find them!”

  As Mr Pinch stomped off along the path, Zoe turned to the tree. “Chi Chi?” she called softly. “You can come down now. He’s gone!”

  There was a cheeky giggle, and Chi Chi slid down the tree trunk, her dark eyes bright. The
n the branches shook gently again – and another face popped out of the leaves, squeaking happily.

  “Mei Mei!” gasped Zoe, relief and happiness sweeping through her. “You were in the tree all along!”

  “Hooray!” cried Meep, bouncing up and down.

  Both pandas scrambled down from the tree. Zoe laughed as they leaped into her arms and they all shared a fluffy cuddle. “I’m so glad you’re all right, Mei Mei,” she told the little panda. “We were all so worried about you!

  Chi Chi nuzzled Mei Mei with her black nose, squealing eagerly. “Mei Mei was very brave to go exploring all by herself, Chi Chi,” Zoe agreed, smiling. “And she did find the best hiding place yet from Mr Pinch! But I think you’d both better stay inside your home from now on, don’t you?”

  Mei Mei nodded, and Zoe grinned as the cubs squeaked and chattered in delight about their adventure. While they were apart, they had realised how much they missed one another, and now they were so happy to be back together, safe and sound.

  Suddenly Meep tugged on Zoe’s sleeve with his tiny fingers. “Quick, Zoe,” he chirped. “Mr Pinch is back!”

  Zoe placed the cubs carefully on the ground and they squeezed back through the hole in the fence and peeped out from behind the bamboo. The zoo manager was inside the enclosure, looking out at the grumbling crowd. “They must be in here somewhere,” he announced, trying to sound cheerful.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” snapped one of the reporters. “I don’t believe there really are any pandas in there. I think you’ve been making it all up!”

  As Mr Pinch spluttered, Meep turned to Zoe. “If all those people leave without seeing the pandas, they’ll be very cross,” the little lemur chattered nervously. “They might even tell people not to come to the Rescue Zoo any more!”

  “There’s something even more important to think about, Meep,” Zoe replied. “If Mr Pinch doesn’t see that the pandas are getting along now, he might still decide to send one of them away. Remember, he said they had to be friends by today!”

  She looked through the wire enclosure and laughed. “But I don’t think we need to worry about that any more, Meep,” she giggled happily. Side by side, Chi Chi and Mei Mei scampered out from behind the bamboo and padded towards the crowd. As they got closer, Mei Mei leaped playfully on to her sister and they rolled around in a pile of leaves, giggling and squealing. Chi Chi was proud of her brave sister. Even better, Mei Mei was no longer too timid and frightened to try new things. In fact, Mei Mei seemed just as bold and brave as Chi Chi – rolling, scampering and having fun in her home more than ever before.

  “After their big adventure, the cubs have realised how much they love each other!” Zoe grinned as she listened to their excited squeals. “They’ve made friends for good this time.”

  Suddenly the reporters spotted them, and there were gasps and laughs from the crowd. “Look – there they are!” one cried. “I don’t believe it. They’re even cuter than I imagined!”

  “And look at them playing together. They’re gorgeous,” added another, taking a picture.

  Mr Pinch stared at the pandas, completely baffled. “Where on earth were the little fluffballs hiding?” he muttered. “I looked everywhere!”

  While the crowd were busy watching the pandas, Zoe covered up the hole in the fence with an armful of dry sticks and twigs. “We’ll make sure Stephanie fixes it properly later,” she whispered to Meep. “But something tells me the cubs won’t be trying to escape again any time soon!”

  Quietly they slipped back to the gate and out on to the path. Zoe ran up behind Stephanie and Great-Uncle Horace, and tapped them both on the shoulder.

  “There you are, sweetheart!” Stephanie cried, throwing her arms around Zoe. “I was wondering where you were. Quick, take a look at Chi Chi and Mei Mei! I don’t know what’s happened, but suddenly they’re getting along so well!”

  “It’s extraordinary,” added Great-Uncle Horace, his brown eyes twinkling at Zoe. “And just in time!”

  The gate opened again and out came Mr Pinch. Zoe waited for him to storm and shout about the naughty cubs but the zoo manager was delighted. “The reporters say they’ll tell all their friends to come to the zoo to see the pandas,” he announced smugly. “One of them even promised to write a special story about how rare they are. You don’t see twin pandas every day, after all. That means extra visitors for the Rescue Zoo – and extra money! It was a brilliant idea of mine, making sure we kept them both.” He strolled off down the path, whistling a happy tune.

  “Will the sisters always be together, Mr Higgins?” called a reporter, holding a microphone out to Great-Uncle Horace.

  “Always,” he replied, beaming at Zoe. “The cubs are not just sisters. They are also the very best of friends. We would never dream of separating them.”

  Zoe beamed back at Great-Uncle Horace and turned to watch the baby pandas rolling around together. She was so relieved, and so happy! The twins were both going to stay at the Rescue Zoo and enjoy being together.

  Just then Mei Mei leaped into the waterfall, splashing Chi Chi.

  The crowd chuckled and Meep giggled so hard he fell over! Zoe grinned and scooped her little friend into her arms for a hug. “It looks like the Rescue Zoo doesn’t have just one playful panda any more, Meep,” she whispered happily. “Now we have two!”

  Copyright

  ZOE’S RESCUE ZOO: THE PLAYFUL PANDA

  First published in the UK in 2013 by Nosy Crow Ltd

  The Crow’s Nest, 10a Lant Street

  London SE1 1QR, UK

  This ebook edition first published in 2013

  Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and / or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd

  Text copyright © Hothouse Fiction, 2013

  Cover illustration © Sophy Williams, 2013

  The right of Hothouse Fiction and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

  All rights reserved.

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictiously. Any resemblence to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978 0 85763 217 3

  www.nosycrow.com