by Amelia Cobb
“Oh, Meep – Shadow’s used to playing with the other wolves in his pack,” Zoe reminded her little friend. “He might not know how to play gently. And he was extra excited today! I’m sure he’ll settle down soon though.”
“I hope so,” chirped Meep.
Zoe scooped her little friend up for a cuddle. “Don’t worry, Meep! We just need to be patient with Shadow,” she told him. “Remember how strange and different things must be for him. He’s probably feeling a little bit nervous about moving to a new home. Being nervous can make you act strangely sometimes.”
“What do you mean?” asked Meep, puzzled.
Zoe thought. “Well, a new boy, Dan, started in my class last year. He moved here from a different school and he didn’t know anybody, but instead of being friendly, he was really rude to everyone! But once he settled in and got to know everyone, he was really nice. He just acted like that because he was nervous.” As she spoke, Zoe realised something else. “And being nervous about the Halloween concert has been making me feel a bit funny too!” she said. “Whenever I think about singing in front of the crowd, my tummy ties up in knots and my knees feel shaky.” She sighed. “I just don’t know how I’ll be able to do it!”
“I think you’ll be really good, Zoe!” said Meep. “Maybe you just need a bit more practice. Why don’t you have a go now? Pretend that I’m the audience!”
Zoe thought that was a good idea. She’d only be singing in front of Meep, after all – her best friend in the whole world! She took a deep breath and tried to sing the first line of the song. “Spiders and slugs, creeping on the wall…”
But even now, Zoe couldn’t do it. Her throat felt dry and sore, and her voice sounded hoarse and scratchy. She stopped, shaking her head sadly. “I just keep picturing a huge crowd of people, all pointing at me and laughing,” she said. “I know that must sound really silly, but I can’t help it.”
Meep leaped into Zoe’s arms and gave her a cuddle. He nuzzled his head against her. “It will be OK, Zoe! We’ll think of something!” he chirped helpfully.
Zoe smiled and nodded. But deep down, she wasn’t sure.
Chapter Six
Some Exciting News
“Hi, Ethan!” called Zoe, waving as she slipped into the wolf enclosure. “We’ve come to play with Shadow, is that OK?”
Ethan waved back. “Of course, Zoe!”
It was the following day, and Zoe had rushed back from school as quickly as she could, desperate to visit Shadow again. She had managed to persuade Meep to come along too, even though her lemur friend was still nervous about playing with the wild little wolf. All the way to the enclosure, they’d heard Shadow howling noisily, just like yesterday. But when they arrived and Shadow saw them both, he started barking happily and wagging his little tail. Zoe went straight over to him and knelt down, and Shadow gave her hand lots of excited licks.
Ethan said, “He looks very pleased to see you! You know, he hasn’t started to calm down yet. I’ve hardly been able to keep up with him today – I’m exhausted! He’s really keen to play-fight, like he would with other wolves in his pack.” Ethan showed her a few scratches on his hands and arms from where Shadow had got overexcited. “I brought him a new ball, but he chewed it up straightaway!” he added with a tired smile, nodding at a few shredded bits of blue plastic on the ground.
As soon as Meep heard this, he leaped straight on to Zoe’s shoulder. “I’m staying up here today!” the little lemur said firmly. “What if Shadow thinks I’m a bouncy ball too?”
“Don’t be such a scaredy-lemur,” Zoe whispered back when Ethan disappeared into a store cupboard to fetch something. “Shadow won’t hurt you!”
Ethan came back with a long, smooth plastic sheet and a tray of ice cubes. “But I have found something Shadow loves – watch!” he told Zoe.
He spread the plastic sheet out on the ground and shook the ice cubes into the palm of his hand. Shadow watched, his head cocked to one side and his tail wagging. Then Ethan slid the ice cubes along the piece of plastic – and with a yelp of excitement Shadow pounced after them! Zoe giggled as the funny little pup chased the ice cubes around the plastic, nudging them forward with his nose so that they shot away from him, and then sliding and skidding along behind them.
Finally, when they started to melt more, he crunched the cubes up noisily with his tiny teeth.
“That was so cute!” Zoe said, still laughing. “What other games have you been playing with him, Ethan?”
Ethan pointed to a black rubber bicycle tyre. It was full of holes and bite-marks. “I tried to teach Shadow how to fetch this tyre,” he said, “but he was more interested in chewing it to pieces than bringing it back for me to roll again. Do you want to have a go, Zoe?”
Zoe took the tyre from Ethan and held it next to her. Shadow pricked his ears up expectantly, watching her. As soon as Zoe rolled the tyre along the ground, he raced after it, his tail wagging. When he caught up with it he grabbed it in his mouth.
Then he started shaking it from side to side, making playful growling noises and chewing even more holes through the rubber.
“Shadow’s already bitten through three tyres today,” Ethan told Zoe. “Mr Pinch walked past earlier and was really cross about all the mess! I’ll have to go shopping for more toys tomorrow – although I bet Shadow will chew straight through whatever I give him to play with!”
“He really is pretty wild, isn’t he?” said Zoe.
Ethan nodded. “I think it might be to do with him being separated from his family,” he said. “It must have been really difficult for him. He’ll have been used to playing and wrestling with the other wolves in his pack.”
“Well, I’ve got some exciting news about that!” said a voice from behind them.
Zoe and Ethan turned round just as Great-Uncle Horace stepped into the enclosure. “What do you mean?” asked Zoe.
Great-Uncle Horace beamed. “We’ve found the rest of Shadow’s pack!” he explained. “They ran away from the fire that destroyed their home and took shelter several miles away. They have a few minor injuries, but with treatment they’ll be fine.”
“That’s really good news!” exclaimed Ethan.
“Yes, and now that they’ve been located, Shadow should be reunited with them,” added Great-Uncle Horace. “And because their territory was destroyed by fire, the best thing seems to be for them all to come to live at the Rescue Zoo.”
“That’s what you were being so mysterious about the other day, when you said you had a plan but you couldn’t tell us what it was!” Zoe realised.
Great-Uncle Horace nodded. “I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, my dear,” he explained. “I knew the fire rescue team in Alaska were searching for the pack, but we couldn’t be sure they would find them.”
Zoe looked carefully at Great-Uncle Horace. Even though he was telling them such a good piece of news, she realised that he was frowning anxiously. “What’s wrong, Great-Uncle Horace?” she asked. “You look worried.”
Great-Uncle Horace sighed. “Well, I’m afraid there’s a bit of a problem too,” he said. “You see, even though there were only four other wolves in the pack – Shadow’s mother, an older brother and two babies – and we have plenty of space for them to live here at the zoo, flying them over will be very expensive. We’re going to have to find some extra money from somewhere if we’re going to be able to reunite the pack with Shadow and treat them for their injuries here.”
As Great-Uncle Horace and Ethan talked about how they could raise the money to fly Shadow’s pack over to the zoo, Zoe felt a little nudge against her leg and looked down. Shadow had overheard what Great-Uncle Horace had said, and wanted to know what was going on!
Zoe bent down and, checking that Great-Uncle Horace and Ethan were too busy chatting to overhear, whispered to Shadow, “Your pack has been found, and they’re all OK!”
Shadow’s big dark eyes suddenly widened! He let out a happy, excited bark and bounded around in circles, wa
gging his tail so fast it was a blur. Then he raced back over to Zoe and yapped hopefully.
“Well, Great-Uncle Horace and everybody else really want them to come and live here with you,” replied Zoe quietly, deciding she should be honest with Shadow about the tricky situation. “But there is a little bit of a problem at the moment. They’re very far away, you see—”
Meep suddenly squeaked a warning as Great-Uncle Horace and Ethan turned back round, so Zoe couldn’t finish explaining to Shadow. The little wolf pup was suddenly looking very worried, yapping more and more questions, and then he began to howl again. But in front of Great-Uncle Horace and Ethan, Zoe knew she couldn’t keep talking to him and risk giving her secret away.
Very soon, it was time for her to head home for tea, and there was no other opportunity for her to speak to Shadow alone. As she and Meep walked back to the cottage, they heard even more howls coming from his enclosure, and this time Zoe could tell the wolf was feeling very anxious – and she was too.
Despite worrying about Shadow, Zoe felt a little better when Lucy helped her put the finishing touches to her wolf costume later that evening.
“There! Just another couple of stitches to keep this furry ear on nice and tight, and I think we’re almost finished,” said Lucy. “What do you think, sweetheart? Sweetheart?”
Zoe looked up, realising she’d been thinking about Shadow and his pack. “Oh, sorry, Mum. I love it,” said Zoe, reaching over to hold the costume up in front of her. “It’s going to look brilliant.”
Zoe’s mum looked at her carefully. “You seemed a little bit down while we were having tea. Is everything all right? Are you worrying about how we’re going to find the money to bring Shadow’s family over to the zoo?”
“Yes,” admitted Zoe. “I wish I could think of a good way to raise lots of money. I just don’t know what to do!”
Lucy nodded. “I know, Zoe. I wish I could think of something too.”
“I’ve got my birthday money in my piggy bank,” offered Zoe. “But it’s not very much.”
Lucy smiled at her. “That’s very generous of you, Zoe. And every penny helps, when you add them up! I bet there would be lots of people who’d give a little bit of money to help bring the rest of Shadow’s pack over – if they only knew about their situation and the help they need.” She sighed thoughtfully as she sewed the last few stitches into Zoe’s costume. “What we really need is to gather lots of people together in one place, all at once, so that we can tell them the story of Shadow and his family.”
Zoe looked at her mum. “Wait! I think I’ve got an idea. The concert at the Spooktacular! What if we make it a charity performance? We could explain about Shadow before we sing our song. Then, if people like our singing, and want to help Shadow and his pack, they could put some money in a bucket, and we can put it all towards paying for Shadow’s family to join him here at the zoo, where we can look after them all properly!”
Lucy beamed at Zoe. “That is a brilliant idea,” she said. “I think Great-Uncle Horace will love it.”
Zoe nodded. “Now I just need to ask one more person,” she said. “Miss Hawkins!”
Chapter Seven
The Spooktacular Begins!
“Mum, Mum!” cried Zoe as she ran out into the school playground to meet Lucy. “Miss Hawkins said yes!”
“That’s fantastic news, Zoe,” Lucy replied, smiling. “Well done!”
As soon as Zoe had arrived at school that morning, she’d gone straight up to Miss Hawkins and explained her idea. She’d even brought in a photo of Shadow that Lucy had taken on her phone and printed out for Zoe.
Miss Hawkins had agreed immediately. “I think that’s a wonderful suggestion,” she told Zoe. “Let’s tell the rest of the class after I’ve taken the register.” She’d even asked Zoe if she could keep the picture of Shadow! “I’ll pin it up on the class noticeboard, so everyone can see the little fellow we’re trying to help,” she’d explained.
All day, Zoe had been desperate for the last bell to ring. When it did, Miss Hawkins clapped her hands and called, “All right, everybody, time to go home. Remember, your parents or guardians need to bring you to the Rescue Zoo by seven o’clock tonight, and we’ll be singing at half past seven. I can’t wait to see your costumes! See you all there!”
Zoe had been so excited about her idea to help Shadow, she’d almost managed to forget about singing at the Spooktacular that evening. But as she walked through the playground with her mum, she heard some of the other children from her class practising the words, and she felt a familiar nervous feeling in her tummy. Just think about Shadow, she told herself firmly. This is for Shadow!
When she and Lucy arrived at the gates of the Rescue Zoo, Zoe had a surprise. Two huge bunches of orange and black balloons had been tied to the gates, and a banner had been stretched along the top of the entrance, which read:
Zoe looked up at her mum. “All money raised?” she repeated. “I thought just the donations we collect at our concert were going to help Shadow?”
Lucy smiled. “When I told Great-Uncle Horace your idea to help Shadow this morning, he liked it so much that he decided the whole Spooktacular would be to help Shadow,” she explained. “All the money we raise from the ticket sales, from the raffle, from people buying toffee apples and hot dogs and candyfloss. Everything!”
Zoe couldn’t believe it. In just one night, maybe the zoo would be able to raise all the money they needed to fly Shadow’s pack over to join him! Then the little wolf pup wouldn’t be alone any more.
“Zoe, hurry up! I want to see your costume!” squeaked Meep, hopping up and down excitedly.
“I’m almost ready!” replied Zoe. “Keep your eyes closed until I say, Meep, and no peeping!”
Zoe and Meep were in Zoe’s bedroom. It was after tea, and almost time for the Spooktacular to begin! Meep was perched on the bed with his tiny paws covering his eyes, while Zoe pulled on her grey wolf costume: grey leggings, a fluffy grey jumper, and furry grey gloves and boots. Now she just had to add a woolly hat with furry ears attached, and colour her nose in black using an eyeliner pencil that her mum had let her borrow.
“OK, Meep – now you can open your eyes!” said Zoe.
Meep took his paws away. “Wow, Zoe!” he chirped, his eyes wide. “You really look like a wolf!”
Zoe giggled. “Thanks, Meep! I hope Shadow likes it. I can’t wait to see what everyone else in my class looks like too, especially Jack and Nicola!”
“Woooooooo!”
Meep nearly fell off the bed in fright as a spooky moaning sound came from outside. “What is that, Zoe?” he squeaked, looking around nervously.
Zoe ran to the window and looked out. “Oh, Meep, it’s nothing to be worried about!” she laughed. “It’s just some of the zookeepers. They’ve made a recording of scary Halloween sounds and they’re going to play them over the zoo loudspeakers as all the guests arrive!”
“I’m not sure I like that idea,” grumbled Meep.
Zoe giggled and scooped him up for a cuddle. “Meep, remember what we told Star the other day? Halloween isn’t really scary. It’s fun!”
Just then, there was a knock on Zoe’s bedroom door, and a spooky green face with a pointy nose and wild black hair appeared! Meep gave another terrified squeak and hid his face against Zoe’s jumper.
“Oh dear!” said Lucy, coming into the room. “I think I might have frightened Meep. I suppose I do look quite scary! What do you think, Zoe?”
Zoe smiled. Lucy was wearing a long black dress, pointy black shoes, a wig of messy black curls and a tall black hat covered in silver cobwebs. She had covered her face with green face-paint and a fake green nose. “You make a great witch, Mum!” she said.
“And you make an excellent wolf!” replied Lucy. “I wonder what Great-Uncle Horace will dress up as? He still won’t tell anyone!”
Another spooky noise came from outside. This time it was a wicked-sounding cackle.
“Ahahahaha!”
“Ready,” said Zoe. “Everyone in my class is supposed to meet outside the café.”
“Come on then – I’ll walk you there,” said Lucy. “I’ll just fetch my broomstick!”
As Lucy, Zoe and Meep walked through the zoo, Zoe couldn’t believe how busy it already was. The paths were bustling with crowds, all dressed up as witches and black cats, spiders and toads, skeletons and vampires.
Meep was still nervous, and snuggled down in Zoe’s arms to begin with, but after some reassuring whispers from Zoe he started to look around, and as soon as he realised everyone was having lots of fun, he cheered up.
“They’re just normal people in costumes, remember!” Zoe told him quietly.
Meep cheered up even more when Lucy gave them both a bag of Halloween treats to share. “There are jelly frogs and chocolate bats for you, Zoe, and lots of fruit and seeds for Meep,” she explained.
“I’ve remembered that I like Halloween after all,” Meep whispered to Zoe as he nibbled a treat, which made her giggle.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying the Spooktacular. There was a raffle set up outside the penguin enclosure, an apple-bobbing stall by the rhinos, and face-painting a little bit further along. Zoe saw some of the zookeepers walking around with trays of hot apple juice in black and orange cups, and some others handing out biscuits in the shape of spiders and bats, and the special Halloween-themed cupcakes Zoe had made with her mum. Spooky orange pumpkins lined the path, lighting up the whole zoo, but Zoe thought it all felt very fun and friendly, rather than scary.
Even Mr Pinch seemed to be enjoying himself, despite having been so grumpy the other day about all the mess the Spooktacular would make. He was munching a toffee apple as he queued up to buy a raffle ticket. Zoe nudged Meep and pointed to the zoo manager.