The Pesky Polar Bear

by Amelia Cobb

  Zoe chuckled. “Oh, Meep, you’re always hungry! Yes, the zookeepers are in charge of the party food. Will is making ice lollies, Frankie is baking cupcakes and gingerbread, and Jess is going to bake a big birthday cake with lots of scrummy white chocolate icing.”

  Meep squealed excitedly. “Yum! I wish it was the party right now, Zoe!”

  When they got to the polar-bear enclosure, Zoe was about to reach for her paw-print necklace, but she stopped quickly at the fence. “Meep!” she hissed. “Look – Mum’s here! It’s a good job we hid all the other party decorations.”

  “What’s she doing here?” whispered Meep. “Is one of the polar bears poorly?”

  “I hope not,” replied Zoe, suddenly feeling worried. “Let’s go and see.”

  Inside the enclosure, Lucy was putting her stethoscope back in her special vet’s bag. “Hello, love!” she called when she saw Zoe. “Jonny asked me to come and have a look at Snowy because she’s not been eating very well.”

  Zoe looked at Snowy in surprise. The cub was curled up in a little ball, sniffling. Bella was nowhere to be seen, so Zoe knew she must be swimming in the pool. “Is there something wrong with Snowy?” she asked her mum.

  Lucy shook her head. “No, nothing at all! She’s perfectly healthy. It’s strange.” She gave Snowy’s fluffy head a stroke. “Jonny will be keeping a close eye on her, and if she doesn’t start eating properly I’ll have to come back and check on her again. It can be really dangerous for cubs as small as Snowy not to eat enough.”

  When Lucy had packed up the rest of her things and was ready to leave, Zoe hesitated. She wanted to talk to the little polar bear and find out what was going on. “Can I stay and play with the polar bears for a bit?” she asked.

  “OK, but make sure you’re home for tea in half an hour,” Lucy told her.

  When she had disappeared down the path, Zoe and Meep rushed over to Snowy. “What’s wrong?” Zoe asked. “Mum says you haven’t been eating properly.”

  “Don’t you like the fish here?” asked Meep.

  Snowy just sniffed sadly. Zoe moved closer to the little polar bear. “Come on, Snowy. Tell us what’s going on,” she said gently.

  Snowy glanced behind her towards the pool and gave a small, miserable squeal.

  “Oh, Snowy, that’s not true! Of course Bella likes you,” Zoe said. “Please don’t say you wish you’d never left your old zoo in America. I hate to think of you being unhappy here!”

  In a tiny voice, Snowy explained that Bella wouldn’t listen to her ideas about the show that Snowy wanted them to perform at the party – and the bigger cub kept growling and being cross with her.

  Zoe patted Snowy softly. She knew that animals sometimes lost their appetites when they were sad – just like people. “Listen, Snowy, I promise that things will get better. Bella just needs to get used to sharing her home with someone new. She’s used to living alone, in peace and quiet. It must be strange and different for her too.” Zoe paused. She didn’t want to upset the little cub by telling her that she was annoying Bella! “It’s lovely that you’re excited about your new home, but sometimes you get a bit … over excited,” she added gently.

  But Snowy just let out another miserable squeak and slunk off towards her bed. Zoe sighed. “Meep, this is awful. If the polar bears don’t make friends soon, Snowy won’t eat properly and might become ill. And that would be terrible.”

  Meep had thought of something else too. “And if she gets poorly, your mum will have to come and check on her lots,” he pointed out. “And that means…”

  “The surprise party!” gasped Zoe. “We’ll never be able to plan it without Mum noticing. It will be ruined!”

  Chapter Eight

  Party Time at the Rescue Zoo!

  When Zoe woke up on Saturday morning, the first thing that popped into her head was her mum’s birthday, and the party they were throwing. “It’s today!” she said happily to Meep, a huge grin spreading over her face. “Mum’s birthday party is today!”

  Usually Zoe had to persuade the little lemur to get out of bed with promises of a tasty breakfast – Meep loved snuggling up and snoozing under the cosy covers, especially in winter. But this morning he was already wide awake, perched on the windowsill. “I was too excited to sleep properly!” Meep explained, bouncing up and down. “Since your mum’s already out in the zoo, can we go straight to the polar bear enclosure and start her birthday celebrations? There’s lots to do, isn’t there?”

  Zoe giggled as she got out of bed, and scooped Meep up for a cuddle. “There’s lots to do but we’ve got to do our jobs around the zoo first,” she reminded him. “I promised to help feed the otters this morning. After that, we’ll head over to the polar bear enclosure!”

  “I can’t wait to see all the decorations in place,” Meep chattered eagerly.

  “Me too, Meep,” said Zoe. “Thank goodness Snowy ate a little bit of fish yesterday, so Mum doesn’t have to go back and check on her today. She’d spot the balloons and the bunting, and the surprise would be ruined!”

  After a quick breakfast of porridge for Zoe and a chopped-up banana for Meep, they wrapped up warm and set off into the zoo, ready to do their jobs for the morning. Zoe wanted to wish her mum happy birthday, but in a way she was glad they didn’t bump into her. Zoe and Meep were so excited that if they had, her mum might have guessed that something was going on!

  Zoe hummed a happy tune as she threw handfuls of shiny silver fish to the hungry otters. Meep bounced around like a jack-in-the-box, turning excited cartwheels, and even when Benedict the otter accidentally splashed him, the little lemur didn’t mind.

  Finally they set off down the path for Bella and Snowy’s enclosure. All around them, the Rescue Zoo animals were excitedly chattering about Lucy’s birthday too. Lots of them wished they could come to the party themselves, but Zoe had suggested they could all celebrate in their own enclosures anyway.

  The hippos were having a mud party, and the birds of paradise had been practising a special birthday song, and explained to Zoe that they would sing it as Lucy walked past. And the clever chimps had made party hats out of the palm leaves that grew in their enclosure, and planned to wear them all day.

  Zoe grinned as she saw all the animals’ celebrations. Even though her mum wouldn’t know that they were doing it for her birthday, it really added to the celebratory atmosphere around the zoo!

  When Zoe arrived at the polar bear enclosure, Great-Uncle Horace, the zookeepers and lots of her mum’s friends were already there. “Wow – it looks amazing. Like a real winter wonderland!” breathed Zoe, looking around. The enclosure was dotted with bunches of white and blue balloons, and the fir trees were strung with fairy lights. Zoe’s home-made bunting hung across the entrance to the igloo.

  Inside, a table on the viewing platform was covered in delicious-looking party food. There were gingerbread snowmen, brownies cut into the shape of snowflakes and dusted with icing sugar, and dishes of wobbly blue jelly and ice cream.

  In the middle was a huge white chocolate cake in the shape of an igloo – just like the one they were in! To drink there was warm apple juice with cinnamon, or hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows.

  “Mmmm!” Zoe suddenly felt very hungry. “It almost looks too good to eat.”

  “Almost,” squeaked Meep, looking eagerly at a dish of blueberries.

  Zoe scooped him up for a cuddle. “It’s not time to tuck in just yet, Meep,” she whispered, laughing. “We have to wait for Mum to arrive!”

  The polar bears were both in the swimming pool, below the viewing platform. Zoe was glad to see that they were splashing around together, practising the show that Snowy had talked about! She grinned as Snowy turned a somersault under the water and Bella copied her. But when Bella came to the surface to suggest a new move – swimming down to the bottom of the pool and touching the floor – Snowy shook her head, barking and squealing bossily. The little cub was sure that her ideas were the best! Bella looke
d cross, and when Great-Uncle Horace and the guests were busy putting up a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner, Zoe sneaked away and went down to the pool. She called quietly over to Bella while Snowy was practising a move under water.

  “Is everything OK?” she asked quickly.

  Bella barked back grumpily and Zoe nodded, feeling very sorry for her friend. “I know – Snowy isn’t very good at listening,” she agreed. “I can see why you’re so annoyed. But you know that Snowy is only behaving like this because she wants to impress you, don’t you?”

  Bella looked surprised, and gave a curious bark. Zoe smiled as she realised something. “I think she just wants to be your friend, Bella. Snowy’s come to a new place where she doesn’t know anyone. She probably looks up to a bigger, older bear like you, and wants you to like her. Maybe if you don’t get so annoyed with her, she’ll calm down and stop being so pesky. Will you try?”

  Bella hesitated for a moment, and looked across the pool at the little cub. Snowy had bobbed up to the surface and was waiting hopefully, looking at the bigger bear with eager, dark eyes. Then Bella nodded, and Zoe grinned in relief. “Thanks, Bella. Now, I’d better go and fetch my mum – it’s time for the party to start!”

  Chapter Nine

  Mr Pinch Steps In!

  “Oh no, Zoe! Mr Pinch is coming this way!” hissed Meep as they slipped out of the polar bear enclosure. “What if he’s changed his mind about the party?”

  Zoe’s heart sank. Mr Pinch was marching towards them, a very determined expression on his face – which was exactly how he looked whenever he was about to stop them having fun. “He can’t make us cancel it now. Everybody is here and the party’s all set up,” Zoe whispered back – but she couldn’t help feeling worried.

  “Zoe!” barked Mr Pinch. “Just the person I was looking for.”

  Zoe crossed her fingers tightly. “Mr Pinch! I promise we haven’t made a mess—” she began, but Mr Pinch was shaking his head.

  “I wasn’t coming to tell you off. I was coming to tell you that your mum is heading this way to check on the polar bears!” he explained.

  Zoe stared at him in surprise. Mr Pinch was trying to help! “But the guests won’t have hidden yet. They’re supposed to jump out and surprise her,” she said.

  “What shall we do?”

  Mr Pinch looked thoughtful for a moment. “I know, I’ll stop her!” he cried. “I’ll say I need to talk to her about an important zoo matter. That should buy us a little bit of time – but you’d better tell everyone to get ready, quick!”

  “Thank you, Mr Pinch,” Zoe said gratefully, and the zoo manager blushed.

  “Err – you’re welcome,” he said awkwardly.

  “See you at the party!” she said with a smile.

  “Oh … yes!” he said, sounding a little surprised that he was invited. He smiled back at her briefly and then rushed off.

  Zoe dashed back inside the enclosure and popped her head into the igloo. Great-Uncle Horace and all the guests were chatting excitedly, and someone had put some cheerful party music on.

  “Quick, everyone – Mum’s on her way!” Zoe called. “Mr Pinch is going to keep her busy for another minute or two, but you all need to hide, and stay really quiet. When she arrives, I’ll say ‘NOW!’ and everyone can jump out and shout, ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!’”

  Great-Uncle Horace nodded enthusiastically. “Understood, Zoe! Come on, everyone – turn the music off, please, and get into your hiding places!”

  Zoe giggled as Great-Uncle Horace and the other zookeepers squeezed under the table, squashed against the side of the big ice columns, and ducked behind the door.

  When Zoe went back outside she could hear voices along the path. Mr Pinch was doing his very best not to let Lucy inside the polar-bear enclosure!

  “So, I have some important news that I need to tell you,” he was saying.

  “Well, what is it, Mr Pinch?” Lucy asked. “Perhaps we could talk about it later. I’m on my way to visit the polar bears.”

  “NO! I mean, err, no, wait a moment,” blustered Mr Pinch. “It’s very important. You see…err … Well, we have a new kind of seed to feed to the parrots. Yes, that’s it! It just arrived today, much cheaper than the old kind but just as good… Anyway, I just thought you’d like to know.”

  “That’s very interesting, Mr Pinch,” said Lucy, giving him a strange look. “Thank you for telling me.”

  “Good old Mr Pinch,” whispered Zoe to Meep. “He helped to save the surprise!”

  She stepped out of the enclosure and smiled at the zoo manager, who was looking very flustered. “Hi, Mum,” she said. “I’m glad you’re coming to visit the polar bears. There’s something you should see inside the igloo!”

  Mr Pinch looked very relieved that he could stop pretending! Zoe smiled to thank him, and he followed on behind them as Zoe led her mum into the enclosure.

  “What is it, Zoe?” Lucy asked curiously. “Are the polar bears all right?”

  “They’re fine, Mum. You’ll see,” Zoe told her, grinning.

  Looking very puzzled, Lucy stepped inside the igloo – and just as she did, Zoe cried, “NOW!”

  Everyone burst out from their hiding places all at once, yelling, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

  Great-Uncle Horace let off a party popper, and Lucy gasped, looking around at all her friends gathered there. Zoe grinned as her mum saw all the balloons and decorations, and the yummy party food laid out on the table.

  “Oh my goodness! What a surprise!” she laughed. “How lovely, everyone – I didn’t expect a birthday party! Thank you!”

  “You should thank Zoe, who organised every single detail,” Great-Uncle Horace told her, beaming. “She knew you’d love a surprise, and she made all the decorations and organised this delicious food.”

  “It’s the best present I could have asked for,” Lucy said happily, hugging Zoe.

  “And the party food looks wonderful! Shall we tuck in?”

  Soon everyone was enjoying the delicious cake, gingerbread men, hot chocolate and cinnamon apple juice, and Zoe put the music on again so that everyone could dance. “And now it’s time for the polar bears to put on their special show,” Zoe whispered to Meep. “I just hope they don’t fall out with each other again!”

  Zoe slipped away from the party and crept down from the viewing platform to the edge of the swimming pool, where Bella and Snowy were waiting. “Are you ready?” she asked the polar bears quietly. “I can’t wait to see this!”

  Bella nodded, but Snowy bounced eagerly up and down, yapping excitedly. “Be careful, Snowy,” Zoe warned. “You’re right next to the snow—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, Snowy lost her balance – and fell with a thump against the snow machine! Suddenly there was a noisy whirring, and the soft spray of snowflakes that poured out of the machine to cover the enclosure became a thick cloud. “Oh no,” gasped Zoe. “Snowy, you’ve created a blizzard!”

  Snowy looked anxiously at all the extra snow that was starting to fall. Already it was piling up on the banks of the swimming pool, higher and higher, and Zoe knew that Great-Uncle Horace or her mum would notice it at any moment. But to Zoe’s surprise, Bella gave Snowy a reassuring little nudge with her nose and barked happily.

  “Maybe you’re right, Bella,” said Zoe thoughtfully. “It might make the party extra wintry! But I think I should try to fix the machine while you two are doing your show. Why don’t you start and Meep can get everyone’s attention!”

  As Zoe bent over the snow machine, trying to understand which buttons would change how quickly the snow fell, the bears stood next to each other on the edge of the pool. Meep sprang nimbly up to the viewing platform and landed on Great-Uncle Horace’s shoulder, tugging at his collar and pointing down at the pool with a tiny finger.

  “Goodness, look down there!” Zoe heard Great-Uncle Horace call to the party guests. “It seems as though our wonderful polar bears are about to perform for us.”

  The crowd gasped and che
ered as Bella and Snowy splashed eagerly into the water. They turned somersaults, dived underwater and splashed back to the surface. Zoe grinned as they did the diving move Bella had suggested, too! Then Snowy hopped on to Bella’s back and barked happily, as Bella glided around the pool in circles.

  Just as the bears got to their final move, Zoe spotted the right button to press on the snow machine. “That’s it!” she whispered, breathing a sigh of relief as the snow once again fell gently and slowly.

  As the bears swam back to the edge of the pool and splashed out, their audience giving them a huge round of applause, Zoe was waiting for them. “You were brilliant!” she whispered happily. “And the party guests enjoyed your show so much, they didn’t even notice the extra snow storm!”

  Chapter Ten

  Making Friends

  Everyone had loved the bears’ show – especially Lucy. Afterwards, Zoe heard her mum cheering loudly and telling Great-Uncle Horace, “That was brilliant! This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

  “Perhaps it’s time for you to cut the birthday cake, my dear?” suggested Great-Uncle Horace. “I’ll light the candles!”

  As the crowd gathered around the cake, Zoe ran to the edge of swimming pool. “You were amazing!” she whispered to the polar bears. “You worked together, like real friends always do. I’m so proud of you both.” She winked at Bella secretly, proud that the older bear had been so patient with Snowy.

  The little cub gave a bashful squeak, and Zoe smiled. “It is important to listen, Snowy,” she agreed, “and I know you will always try to let others have a turn from now on. But your ideas for the party made it even more fun, and it wouldn’t have been the same without you. My mum loved the show!”