The Wild Wolf Pup (2 page)

Chapter Two

Zoe's Costume Puzzle

Later that afternoon, when Miss Hawkins had taken the rest of Zoe's class back to school to be collected by their mums and dads, Zoe and her mum decided to head to the zoo café to have a hot chocolate. As they walked there, Zoe thought that the zoo was looking really colourful
and pretty, with red and orange leaves fluttering down from the trees. She heard a little squeak behind her, and looked round. Something tiny, grey and furry was scampering excitedly towards them!

“Meep!” called Zoe with a laugh. Meep was a tiny grey mouse lemur, with a long curling tail, bright golden eyes and a very cheeky face. He was Zoe's best friend at the zoo. Lucy smiled as Zoe bent down to pick Meep up and give him a cuddle. “Where were you earlier?” she whispered to him so her mum couldn't hear. “I thought you might come and see my class!”

Zoe had a special secret, which nobody else in the whole world knew, not even her mum. She could talk to animals! It made living at the Rescue Zoo extra
exciting, because every time Zoe heard an animal roar, bark, grunt or hoot, she understood exactly what they were saying, and could speak back to them.

“I was going to come and see you,” explained Meep. “But first I had a little snooze. Then I felt hungry, so I had a snack. There are so many treats in the kitchen to nibble! I had a banana, an apple, some nuts and some seeds.” Meep rubbed his belly happily. “But then I felt sleepy again, so I thought I'd better have another nap!”

Zoe giggled. Meep's two favourite
things were sleeping and eating! Lucy had stopped to chat to the penguin keeper, so Zoe had a chance to reply. “That sounds like a nice day, Meep!” she said in a quiet voice, tickling his belly. “It's probably just as well you didn't come along anyway. Mr Pinch turned up and was grumpy with everyone. And you can never resist being extra naughty when he's around!”

Her mum finished her chat, and when they got to the café she bought them two mugs of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. They went to sit in a cosy corner, and Zoe gave Meep one of her marshmallows, which he nibbled happily.

“Wasn't today fun, Zoe? It was lovely to have your whole class visit the zoo,” Lucy said, taking a sip of her drink. “And I
loved
Miss Hawkins's idea about you all singing
at the Spooktacular! You'll be the stars of the whole show!”

Zoe stirred her drink carefully and avoided her mum's eyes. She didn't want to admit that she was nervous about singing in front of everyone. Luckily, Lucy didn't seem to notice. “Oh, have you decided what you'd like your Halloween costume to be, love?” she asked. “We could start working on it tonight!”

Zoe felt much more cheerful as she thought about her costume. She loved getting dressed up at Halloween! “I haven't decided yet,” she replied. “All I know is that I want to dress up as an animal! I went as a black cat last year and a frog the year before, so I need a new idea.”

“How about a spider or a bat, since
that's what your class has been learning about?” suggested her mum.

“I think half of my class are already planning to come as spiders or bats!” Zoe explained.

Lucy nodded. “Hmm, yes, you want to go as something a bit different. Well, we'll think of something, Zoe! Why don't you and Meep go for a walk around the zoo and see if you get any inspiration?”

Zoe smiled. “That's a great idea.”

When they'd finished their hot chocolates, Lucy went to the zoo hospital to check on a poorly meerkat. Zoe and Meep set off in the other direction. Meep ran up her arm and perched on her shoulder. “Who shall we visit first, Zoe?” he asked.

“Let's see…” Zoe looked around. “Well,
down this path are the crocodiles, the zebras and the seals. A crocodile would be a fun costume! Maybe I could wear my green jumper, and make a special mask with lots of sharp teeth.”

“Yes! Or a zebra would be good too,” added Meep. “You've got your stripy black and white pyjamas, so you could wear those. And then you'd just need a tail and some ears.”

“I wonder what Star thinks?” said Zoe. They were just outside the seal enclosure, where one of Zoe's favourite animals lived: Star, the seal pup. “Let's go and ask her.”

Meep chirped eagerly. Gentle Star was one of Meep's favourite animal friends too!

Zoe reached for the necklace she was
wearing around her neck, and found the little silver charm in the shape of a paw print that dangled from it. She held the charm against a panel in the gate, and with a quiet click the gate swung open for her. Zoe tucked the necklace back under her jumper and smiled. It wasn't an ordinary piece of jewellery, of course, even though it looked like one. Great-Uncle Horace had had it made especially for Zoe, and given it to her for her birthday. The charm opened every gate and door in the whole zoo, so she could visit any animal, whenever she wanted!

Star's enclosure was a pool of deep-blue icy water, with a circle of smooth rocks around it where Zoe sometimes sat to watch Star and the other seals swimming. Today Star was practising her somersaults
in the water, but as soon as she saw Zoe she gave an excited squeal and flopped straight out of the pool, shaking the water from her fluffy white coat.

“Hi, Star!” Zoe called, waving. “Wow, those backflips looked great!” She patted the seal on her fuzzy head. “Listen, I'm trying to think of a good Halloween costume, and I can't pick one! Do you have any ideas?”

Star suddenly looked very worried, and gave a nervous squeak. Zoe chuckled and bent down to pick up the little seal. “No, Star. Halloween isn't
really
spooky!” she reassured her. “Some of the zookeepers dress up as spooky things, like ghosts and witches, but it's not real. It's fun! In fact, it's one of my favourite days of the whole year.”

Star didn't look too sure, and gave another little squeal. Zoe cuddled her close. “Oh dear! I think some of the other animals have been teasing you, Star,” she said. “The Rescue Zoo is definitely NOT all creepy on Halloween! I've lived here for a long time and I've never seen anything scary at all. Except maybe Leonard the lion when he's in a grumpy mood!”

“Halloween is exciting, Star!” added Meep, nodding his little head enthusiastically. “The zoo is full of balloons and other decorations, and there are lots of treats to eat!”

Zoe hid a smile. Every year, Meep also got frightened when
he
saw people dressed up in spooky Halloween costumes! Zoe always had to explain to him that they weren't
really
witches or skeletons – they were just normal people, in costumes!

Eventually, Star seemed reassured. But the little seal didn't have any costume ideas for Zoe. Soon Lorna, the seal keeper, arrived with a bucket of shiny fish for their dinner, so Zoe and Meep waved goodbye and headed back out on to the path again.

Zoe sighed as they walked on. “Let's see. A tiger? A tortoise? A porcupine? There are just too many animals to choose from! I wish Great-Uncle Horace were here. I bet he'd have some good ideas,” she said.

“Me too!” chattered Meep.

Great-Uncle Horace had been travelling around North America for over a month now. The last postcard he'd sent had said,
Helping a grizzly bear with toothache. Home soon!
Zoe couldn't wait to see him again – not just because she missed him, but also because Great-Uncle Horace often brought a new animal back to the Rescue Zoo when he came home!

“I wonder what he'll bring back next, Meep?” Zoe pondered out loud to her friend. She couldn't wait to find out!

At the end of school the next day, Zoe's class were still buzzing with excitement about their trip to the Rescue Zoo – and they were even more excited once Miss Hawkins had told them all that they'd be going back to the zoo on Halloween, to perform at the Spooktacular event!

“We should practise our song as much as we can until then, so we're really good!” said Sareeta, a girl in Zoe's class, as they all packed up their bags and started to walk out to the playground to meet their parents.

“Let's start now!” said her friend Jenna. She took a deep breath and sang the first line. “
Spiders and slugs, creeping on the wall
…”

Sareeta and Nicola joined in too.
“
They're
called creepy-crawlies but they're not so creepy after all
…”

Nicola smiled at Zoe. “Come on, Zoe, you sing too! The next line is the one about bats and snakes, remember?”

But Zoe couldn't! As her friends looked at her, her mouth suddenly felt dry and her face went hot. All the words of the song were muddled up in her head. “Err – I can't sing today. My – err – my throat's feeling a bit sore. Sorry,” she said quickly, rushing off to where her mum was waiting.

All the way home, Zoe worried about the Spooktacular. What if she froze like that when they were meant to sing their song on the night? Would everyone notice?
I could pretend to feel poorly so I don't have to sing
, she thought.
But then Mum will
make
me stay in bed and I'll miss the rest of the Spooktacular as well!

When they got back to the Rescue Zoo, Meep was waiting for them at the gates. Zoe was about to head straight for the cottage, but Lucy said, “I need to go over to Higgins Hall to check on a pelican. Do you want to come along?”