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- Herausgeber: Nosy Crow Ltd
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Sprache: Englisch
When Great-Uncle Horace brings back lost and homeless animals from his travels around the globe, it falls to Zoe, and her mum, the zoo vet, to settle them into their new home. She's good at this, because she can understand what they say and talk to them, too. But that's a secret! In this first book, a tiny lion cub comes to stay at the zoo and Zoe must ask Leonard, the grumpy old lion, for his help…
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Seitenzahl: 60
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013
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Great-Uncle Horace lifted up the side of the crate and Zoe’s heart leaped.
Inside was a furry little animal with chocolate-brown eyes and a curvy tail with a brown tuft on the end. It was a fluffy, completely gorgeous lion cub!
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Acknowledgements
With special thanks to Natalie Doherty
For Al, who’s always wanted me to write a book, and for Sarah, for giving me the chance to do it.
Chapter One
Zoe’s Zoo
“Taroom! Taaarrrooomm! Tah-rah-rah-roomm!”
A deafening trumpeting noise blasted through the quiet early morning. It was so loud it made Zoe Parker’s bedroom window rattle.
Zoe’s eyes opened and she gave a wide grin. “OK, OK, I’m up!” she said.
After a final stretch and wiggle of her toes, she leaped out of bed. She pulled on her jeans and a sparkly T-shirt before putting on the necklace she always wore – a pretty silver chain with a charm in the shape of a lion’s paw print. She glanced in the mirror as she tugged a brush through her wavy brown hair and smiled.
There were so many postcards tucked into the sides of the mirror frame that she could hardly see her reflection! Each card was from a faraway place and showed a different exotic animal. There were graceful gazelles in the African savannah, a shy baby panda from the Chinese mountains and thousands of silver angelfish that sparkled like jewels in the Amazon river.
As another trumpet blast rang out, Zoe pulled on her shoes and glanced at her bed. “Where are you, sleepyhead?” she whispered. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”
Everything was still for a moment. Then the covers at the bottom of the bed wiggled. “Aha,” said Zoe, as a small lump appeared and began to make its way up the bed. Then – ever so slowly – a pair of furry ears appeared from under the duvet. These were followed by a small, soft, pale-grey head with two huge, shiny golden eyes, blinking sleepily. Then, finally, a long, curly grey tail.
“There you are, Meep,” giggled Zoe as the tiny mouse lemur crept out from under the covers. “Wakey, wakey. It’s breakfast time!”
“Meep! Meep!” the little lemur squeaked happily, suddenly wide awake. He scampered out of bed and jumped into Zoe’s arms, chattering excitedly. She grinned as she held her fluffy friend.
There was another trumpeting sound, and the little lemur jumped in fright and grabbed on to Zoe’s T-shirt. Zoe laughed again.
“Don’t be silly, Meep, it’s only Oscar,” she said, flinging her window open.
Zoe grinned as she looked out over the patchwork of animal enclosures. From her bedroom she could see all the way from the shimmering lake where the hippos swam, over the grassy green fields full of stripy zebras and tall, patterned giraffes, past the pond full of pink flamingos all standing on one leg, up to the windmill that powered the zoo with its sails turning in the wind, and all the way down to the elephant enclosure next door.
Zoe didn’t think it was unusual to have a lemur sleeping at the end of her bed, or an elephant in her garden, because she lived in her great-uncle’s zoo!
“Good morning to you too, Oscar,” she called down happily.
The tip of a long, grey trunk appeared from behind a glossy banyan tree, followed by the tusks, head and huge flapping ears of Oscar the African elephant. He lifted his trunk up high and waved at her, his wise old eyes twinkling. “Taroom!” he trumpeted again.
“No, Oscar, no school for me today. It’s half term,” she called back. “Listen, I’ll come and say hello later on, OK? And I’ll bring you a treat if I can.”
Elephants munched on tree bark, leaves and grass most of the time, but Zoe knew they also loved sweet fruit like apples and oranges.
Oscar flapped his ears and gave a final, happy trumpet.
“OK, I’ll see if I can find you some bananas!” Zoe laughed.
Living at the Rescue Zoo wasn’t the only amazing thing about Zoe’s life. She also had a very special secret – she could talk to the animals!
Chapter Two
Zoe’s Special Secret
Ever since Zoe’s sixth birthday she’d been able to understand every squeak, roar, bellow and bark that animals made.
She’d had a brilliant birthday party with her mum and her friends. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a visit from Great-Uncle Horace.
She had just been falling asleep that night when her mum called her name. Zoe ran down the stairs and burst into the lounge to see a familiar figure wearing khaki trousers, an explorer’s hat and a safari jacket with lots of pockets. His kind smile and twinkly eyes were framed by a bushy white beard. On his shoulder perched his parrot, Kiki, a large bird with bright-blue feathers.
“Great-Uncle Horace!” Zoe yelled, bounding up to him as he opened his arms and gave her a huge hug.
“Happy birthday, Zoe!” Horace smiled. “You didn’t think I would miss it, did you?” His eyes twinkled as he handed her a parcel.
Excitedly, Zoe ripped open the paper to reveal a beautiful model of the Earth.
“Did you know that most of the world is covered in water?” Great-Uncle Horace told her.
“Thank you for my present!” said Zoe, giving him a huge hug.
Great-Uncle Horace smiled. “Since you’re so grown up now, I have a very important job for you. Can you look after Kiki while I talk to your mum about some zoo business?” He held out his arm and the parrot walked down it slowly, clutching his arm with her claws.
Great-Uncle Horace had rescued Kiki from South America when he was a young man and Kiki was just a tiny ball of fluffy feathers. They’d spent almost their whole lives together, and were as close as Zoe and Meep were. Great-Uncle Horace always said that Kiki was his good-luck charm, and the beautiful macaw went everywhere with him. Great-Uncle Horace tapped the top of his suitcase, and Kiki stepped off his arm and perched on the handle.
“Hi, Kiki,” Zoe said as she stroked the bird softly on her head.
“Where have you and Great-Uncle Horace been this time?”
The macaw gave a squawk. But it didn’t sound like a squawk.
Zoe turned and looked at the bird curiously. “What did you say?” she asked.
Kiki squawked again, and Zoe gasped. She’d heard Kiki say “Russia”!
Zoe shook her head in amazement – she could understand the bird as clearly as she could her mum and Great-Uncle Horace.
“But it was very cold,” Kiki said as she shook her feathers with a shiver.
Zoe couldn’t believe it. She’d always talked to the animals she met – but they’d never talked back before!
“Kiki!” she cried. “I can understand what you’re saying!”
Kiki stared at Zoe, her dark eyes serious. Then she explained that animals spoke to people all the time, but only a few very special people understood them. She told Zoe that she couldn’t tell anyone
