by Amelia Cobb
“Because she’s just learning how to do it,” Zoe replied. “You were probably a bit wobbly too when you first learned to walk!”
They followed the little kangaroo along the winding red-brick path past the elephant enclosure.
When Oscar the African elephant saw them, he raised his long grey trunk and trumpeted loudly.
“Hello, Oscar,” Zoe replied. “This is Bouncer, our newest arrival.”
Bouncer’s ears pricked up as Oscar trumpeted his welcome.
Next, they went past the giraffe enclosure. Jamie, the baby giraffe, came galloping over to the fence to see them. He lowered his long neck over the fence to get a good look at Bouncer as she hopped along.
“Hello, Jamie,” Zoe said, stroking his spotty head. “This is Bouncer.”
Jamie giggled and huffed a hello to the little bouncing kangaroo.
As they carried on into the zoo, Bouncer’s head kept darting this way and that and her ears twitched like crazy. Zoe smiled. There was so much for Bouncer to see at the zoo. It must be so exciting seeing it all for the very first time!
As they reached the reptile house Bouncer stopped hopping and turned and squeaked to Zoe.
“Aha, that’s where the snakes and reptiles live,” Zoe explained. “We have lots of different species here at the Rescue Zoo. Do you want to see some of them?”
Bouncer nodded eagerly.
Zoe picked up the little kangaroo and took her over to look in the window.
Bouncer started to giggle as she watched a snake wriggle past. She turned and chattered to Zoe.
“No, snakes don’t bounce like you,” Zoe replied. “They slither.”
Meep lay down on his tummy and pretended to slither like a snake, which made Bouncer laugh.
Next, they went past the lions’ enclosure.
“This is where the lions live,” Zoe explained as Bouncer hopped over to the fence and peered inside.
The little joey chirped to Zoe.
“No, lions don’t bounce either,” Zoe replied. “Lions pounce.”
Bouncer made a chattering sound.
“You want to know what pouncing is?” Zoe said.
Bouncer nodded.
“It’s like this!” said Meep, and he leapt forwards, chasing a leaf that was being blown along by a gust of wind.
Bouncer giggled. Then she was off again – bouncing her way along the path.
“I like Bouncer,” Meep said to Zoe as they ran after her. “She’s fun!”
Zoe nodded and laughed. Bouncer was a lot of fun. Now that she was feeling more confident with her bouncing, she was fast too. Zoe had to run really quickly to try and keep up with her. At least it was good practice for sports day!
Bouncer hopped past the hippos and the spider house, then she came to a stop beside the monkey enclosure. Two monkeys were sitting in a tree shrieking loudly. Bouncer hopped up and down and chattered to Zoe.
“They’re monkeys,” Zoe replied. “And no, monkeys don’t bounce either. Monkeys scamper and swing. Look, like that.” She pointed to a tree where Mickey the spider monkey was swinging from branch to branch.
Bouncer’s pointy ears twitched and she tilted her head to one side. Then she hopped off again down the path. Zoe and Meep raced after her, but when they got around the bend in the path there was no sign of the little joey.
“Where is she?” Zoe asked, looking all around. She couldn’t lose the little kangaroo!
Meep scampered up into a tree to get a better look but he shook his head. “I can’t see her anywhere,” he said.
Zoe turned to look back the way they’d come from. “Oh no!” she exclaimed.
Mr Pinch was marching towards them.
“What are you two doing?” he frowned when he reached them.
“Nothing much,” Zoe said. “Just going for a walk.”
“Hmm.” Mr Pinch looked at the empty pouch Zoe was wearing. “And where is the baby kangaroo?”
Zoe’s heart pounded. She didn’t know what to do. How could she tell Mr Pinch that she didn’t know where Bouncer was?
“She’s just … getting some exercise,” Zoe replied, hoping Mr Pinch wouldn’t ask her any more questions.
“Good,” Mr Pinch snapped. “I really don’t see why she needs to be in that silly pouch. She should be in an enclosure like all of the other animals. It’s bad enough having that creature running about and getting in the way.” He pointed to Meep, who’d come back down from the tree.
Meep scampered behind Mr Pinch and stuck out his little pink tongue.
“Anyway, I can’t stand here chatting all day. I have work to do,” Mr Pinch continued. “Actually, I have double work to do.”
“Why?” asked Zoe.
“I’ve just had some new cabinets delivered and I need to sort out all of my paperwork,” Mr Pinch explained. Then he looked thoughtfully at Zoe. “I wonder…”
“I wonder what?” Zoe asked.
“I wonder if you’d be able to help me with some very important zoo jobs this weekend.”
Zoe smiled. “Of course!” As Zoe wanted to be a zookeeper when she grew up, she loved to help in the zoo whenever she could. Mr Pinch didn’t usually like Zoe helping out, so it would be great to show him what a hard worker she was.
“Good. Then come to my office first thing in the morning and I’ll give you your first task.” As Mr Pinch turned to go he saw Meep jumping around behind him on the path. He took his whistle from his pocket and gave it a sharp toot. “Out of my way!” he barked, before marching off.
“That whistle makes my ears sad,” sighed Meep.
Zoe laughed. “Mine too.” She scooped up the little lemur and gave him a cuddle. “Now, come on, we need to find Bouncer!” She looked through the glass wall of the penguin enclosure. The huge iceberg in the centre of the lagoon was sparkling like a diamond in the sunshine. Some of the penguins were sitting on top of the iceberg, watching as others dived off into the clear blue water.
Zoe heard a familiar excited chattering. “I think I can hear Bouncer,” she said to Meep, and started hurrying around the enclosure. Sure enough, there was Bouncer, her little face pressed against the glass wall as she watched the penguins splash down into the lagoon.
“Bouncer, there you are!” Zoe exclaimed.
Bouncer chirped to her as she hopped up and down.
“They’re penguins,” Zoe explained. “Do you want to go in and meet them?”
Bouncer nodded eagerly.
“OK, but no hopping off this time.” Zoe picked up the joey and tucked her into the pouch. It was nice that Bouncer was so curious but it meant that Zoe would have to keep a really close eye on her!
With Meep scampering along beside them, Zoe made her way over to the enclosure door and reached for the necklace she always wore. It had a special silver charm on it in the shape of a paw-print. Zoe pressed the charm to a panel by the gate of the enclosure and the gate clicked open. Zoe loved her paw-print necklace. Great-Uncle Horace had given it to her as a special present and it unlocked the gates to all of the zoo enclosures.
Bouncer’s head darted this way and that as Zoe walked inside the enclosure. A penguin came waddling over to greet them.
“Hello, Pip,” Zoe said. “This is Bouncer. She’s just arrived at the Rescue Zoo.”
Pip cheeped a greeting.
“Pip was young, like you, when he first came to the zoo,” Zoe said to Bouncer. “Now look how big he is!”
Bouncer chirped.
“Yes,” Zoe nodded. “One day you’ll be a lot bigger too. In fact, you’re growing all the time!”
Bouncer wriggled her way further out of the pouch to get a better look at the penguins. Then she turned to Zoe and chirped again.
Zoe smiled at the little kangaroo. “OK, you can come out as long as you stay close to me.” Zoe placed Bouncer on the ground by the pool. Although the joey was still small she was quite heavy so it was nice to take her out of the pouch!
The little kangaroo started hopping arou
nd the pool. Her hopping was still slightly wobbly but her bounces were getting higher and higher. They made Zoe think of her school sports day. She was taking part in the sack race, and that meant lots of bouncing!
“Look how high she’s going!” Meep said, waving his paws little excitedly.“She’s getting really good, isn’t she, Zoe?”
“Yes, she is.” Zoe grinned.
Pip waddled over to the edge of the pool and dived back into the water. Bouncer bounced towards Pip to see where he was going, but her jump was so big that it carried her right into the water with a huge splash!
“Oh no!” cried Zoe, racing over to the pool. Thankfully, Bouncer was right at the edge of the water and Zoe was able to scoop her straight out again. But now Zoe was soaking wet too.
Bouncer chirped sadly.
“Don’t worry, I know you were only trying to get a closer look.” Zoe cuddled the baby kangaroo to her. “But we’d better go back home now and get you dry.” She looked down at her soaking-wet school uniform and thought again about the sack race at sports day in just a few days’ time. “I need to get dry too. I think we both need to keep practising our bouncing!”
On Saturday Zoe was woken up early by Bouncer jumping around the bedroom. Zoe smiled as she watched her peeping into her toy boxes and at the things on her shelves. She really was a curious kangaroo!
“Wakey-wakey, Meep,” Zoe called, gently nudging the little lemur, who was still curled up fast asleep at the foot of her bed. “Today is the day we are helping Mr Pinch with some special jobs!”
Just then Bouncer did a huge hop and bounced on to the bed – right on top of Meep!
“Help!” Meep cried. “I’m being bounced on by a banana!”
“You’re not being bounced on by a banana!” Zoe laughed.
The little lemur rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at Bouncer. “Oh, it’s you,” he frowned. “I was dreaming about a lovely big banana!”
Zoe smiled. “Shall we go downstairs and get some breakfast?”
“Yes, please!” Meep cried, suddenly wide awake.
It was still early in the morning but the sun was shining brightly through the window. Zoe chopped a banana in a bowl for Meep and sprinkled it with some seeds. Then she made Bouncer’s breakfast. She put some lettuce leaves in a bowl and sprinkled some grass on top. Finally Zoe poured herself a bowl of cereal.
“Today is Saturday and that’s the busiest day of the week here at the zoo,” she explained to Bouncer as they ate. “We usually get lots of visitors, especially on a day as sunny as this.” She looked out of the window at the bright-blue sky. She couldn’t wait to get outside and help Mr Pinch look after the zoo. She wondered what animals she’d be looking after.
Once they’d finished breakfast Zoe tucked Bouncer into the pouch, Meep hopped on to her shoulder and they set off for Mr Pinch’s office. Even the entrance to Mr Pinch’s office was spotlessly clean, with a door mat with the words “KEEP IT NEAT, WIPE YOUR FEET” written on it. Zoe wiped her feet and knocked on the shiny door.
“Come in!” Mr Pinch bellowed.
The inside of the office was just as neat as the outside. All the files on the shelves were lined up in rows of exactly the same colour and size, and the floor sparkled and shone. Two new cabinets stood on either side of the room. Mr Pinch was sitting behind his desk. He looked even more miserable than usual.
“Are you OK, Mr Pinch?” Zoe asked.
“No.” Mr Pinch replied glumly. “I am not OK. Something disastrous has happened!”
Zoe felt butterflies flutter in her tummy. What could be wrong? Had one of the birds escaped? Was one of the animals really poorly…?
“My whistle has been stolen by a pesky monkey!” Mr Pinch continued. “I was inspecting their enclosure last night and I simply blew my whistle seven times to let them know that it was time for bed. Then one of the naughty little so-and-sos stole it from me.”
On Zoe’s shoulder, Meep started giggling. Zoe tried hard not to grin.
“Oh dear. Where is the whistle now?” asked Zoe.
Mr Pinch shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve no idea. The little rascal ran off with it. The monkey keeper has searched high and low but there’s no sign of it.”
“That’s terrible,” said Zoe, trying her best to sound sympathetic.
“It’s not terrible for my ears,” muttered Meep. “My ears are really happy.”
Zoe tried not to smile. Her ears were also happy at the news of the missing whistle!
Bouncer wriggled up in the pouch and looked around.
Mr Pinch frowned at the little kangaroo. “That thing should not be in a pouch,” he muttered. “It should be in an enclosure just like the rest of the animals.”
“So what jobs would you like me to do today?” Zoe asked quickly, trying to change the subject.
Mr Pinch stood up and went over to a cupboard. He took out some spray cleaner and a cloth. Zoe’s heart sank.
“I’d like you to clean the bins by the café and gift shop,” he said. “It’s one of my favourite jobs! After all, just because bins are for rubbish it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t look smart. When you’ve finished, come back here and I’ll give you another job.”
Zoe sighed. She was happy to help but she hoped her next job would at least involve one of the animals!
The café and gift shop were in a courtyard right in the heart of the zoo. Although it was still early, visitors dressed in summer clothes were starting to arrive at the zoo.
“Ooh, Daddy, look at that baby kangaroo!” a little girl gasped as Zoe walked past. Bouncer’s head was sticking out of the pouch, her ears twitching.
Zoe smiled. At least she still had the best job in the world – looking after a baby kangaroo!
When they got to the first bin, outside the café, Zoe took Bouncer from the pouch and placed her on the floor.
“No hopping off this time,” she said.
“Don’t worry, Zoe, I’ll look after her,” said Meep, standing tall and trying to make himself look very important.
“Thank you, Meep. That would be very helpful,” Zoe replied with a grin.
She sprayed some cleaner on the bin and rubbed it with the cloth until the paint began to shine. In the distance she could hear elephants trumpeting, and monkeys chattering, and birds singing in the trees. The sunshine was making everyone happy, including the animals. She hoped the weather would stay this nice for sports day. She needed to make sure she found some time to practise for the sack race.
“You missed a bit, Zoe,” said Meep, pointing to a smear of dirt on the side of the bin.
“Thank you, Meep.” Zoe rubbed at the smear until it disappeared.
“And here’s another, Zoe, look,” cried Meep, leaping on top of the bin and pointing to another stain.
As Zoe cleaned the dirt away she noticed some people coming out of the café laughing loudly. I wonder what’s so funny, she thought. As they walked past she heard one of them say, “What a cute kangaroo – I’ve never seen one so small!”
They must be talking about Bouncer! Zoe looked all around but there was no sign of the little joey.
“Meep, where’s Bouncer?” she said.
“Uh-oh!” said Meep. “I don’t know!”
Just then Bouncer came bouncing out of the café. In her paw was a half-eaten iced bun!
“Bouncer!” Zoe exclaimed. “Where did you get that from?” She hoped Bouncer hadn’t eaten any of the sugary bun. She was only supposed to eat leaves and grass!
Bouncer came hopping over and handed Zoe the bun, chattering happily.
“You wanted to see where the lovely smells were coming from?” Zoe nodded. “But why did you take the bun?”
The kangaroo chattered something in her ear.
“Oh, Bouncer!” Zoe stroked the little kangaroo’s head. “It’s very kind of you to bring me something to eat but you’re not supposed to help yourself to food from the café. We’d better go and say sorry.”
She tucked the little kangaroo b
ack in her pouch and went into the café.
Jo, the smiley-faced lady who worked in the café, started to laugh as soon as they came in. “What a funny little thing,” she said, stroking Bouncer’s head. “She really brightened up my customers’ day when she came hopping in!”
“I’m sorry she took the bun,” Zoe said.
“Don’t worry,” Jo replied. “It was only someone’s leftovers!”
Zoe said goodbye to Jo and went back outside. It was time to clean the second bin, which was right next to the gift shop. She put Bouncer back on the ground. “Now, promise you’ll stay close this time,” she said.
Bouncer nodded her little head, her ears twitching this way and that at all the different noises she could hear. In the distance a snow leopard roared and there was the sound of splashing water from the seals’ enclosure.
Zoe set about cleaning the second bin. This one was a lot dirtier than the other one so it was hard work. Zoe scrubbed and scrubbed at the bin while Meep and Bouncer hopped around her, seeing who could bounce the highest. To make the job less boring, Zoe started daydreaming about sports day. She needed something sack-like to practise in. Maybe her mum would let her use an old pillowcase... I’ll have to find some time to practise later today, she thought. Zoe really didn’t want to come last in the race!
Just then some children came out of the gift shop chatting loudly. Zoe smiled at them. Then she looked around. Oh no! Bouncer had disappeared again!
Zoe put down her cloth and hurried into the gift shop. It was just the sort of place a curious kangaroo would like to explore!
A small crowd had gathered by the shelves of cuddly toy animals at the back of the shop. Zoe squeezed her way through them. There, perched on a shelf between the toy elephants and lions, was a little kangaroo. But, unlike the rest of the toys, the kangaroo was wrinkling her nose and twitching her ears!
“Please can I buy her, Mummy?” a little boy said, tugging on his mum’s arm.
“This one is definitely not for sale!” Zoe smiled, taking Bouncer down from the shelf. She tucked the curious kangaroo back in the pouch and hurried out of the door – straight into a very cross-looking Mr Pinch!