She looked about six or so, and the heel of her shoes lit up with red lights with every hop.
Where were her parents? After a few minutes of jumping and huffing, she turned to look at me expectantly. Something about wearing a uniform in a zoo made people think you wanted to help them.
âI want to see him! Heâs scary!â She grinned at me with no front teeth and pointed her tiny finger at Louie, who looked to be either disinterested or completely comatose.
I forced my face into a smile. âHere, hop on,â I said as I walked over and lifted the little girl onto a log outside the perimeter fence, helping her get a grip on the top of the partition.
âReally, heâs not so scary. He doesnât eat people, even though lots of people think he could. Mostly sausage and fish. He canât even chew his food.â I shrugged.
The girl watched Louie with wide eyes, turning to face me in astonishment at the mention of Louieâs food. Then a mischievous smile crept onto her face.
âCould I see it?â Her hands clapped together. I peered around. It wasnât very busy in the pavilion. I could show her. Plus, I had nothing else to do around here other than mope.
âOkay,â I said, kneeling down to her like I was sharing a secret, âbut you have to be very careful and stay right here.â She nodded gravely, furrowing her brow. Kid looked like Iâd asked her to guard the president.
âWhatâs your name?â she asked while I was digging around behind some ferns for the small cooler with one of Louieâs food buckets Mike keeps for educational tours every few hours.
âAna.â I hesitated. âIâm named after the biggest snake in the world.â It was the first time in my life that Iâd said it out loud.
The little girlâs mouth gaped open. âThatâs so cool!â she squealed.
Hah. If only the Sneerers could share that sentiment. Her excitement was like a jolt of Pepsi to my tired system.
âIâm Beatrix. Mom says itâs âyoo-neek.ââ Her nose scrunched up as she spoke. âBut I think itâs crummy.â She hung her head, her small purple-rimmed glasses falling to the end of her nose. âPeople at school say itâs an old lady name.â
Ouch.
âI understand.â Boy, did I ever. âTheyâre probably just jealous.â
I could tell by the look on her face that she didnât buy it. I couldnât blame herâI didnât either when my mom said the same to me. A sudden outburst behind us made me jump.
âMommy!â Beatrix jumped down from the log and raced over to a woman with wide eyes, rushing into the pavilion. She hunched over and grasped her daughter by the shoulders.
âHere you are, sweetie! Donât run off like that again! I told you to stay next to me.â She turned to me and reached out, clasping my hand with a frazzled look of apology. âThank you so much for watching Bea.â
âOh, no problem.â I smiled and looked back at Louie. âI was about to feed him if youâd like to stay and watch.â
Beatrix was already begging her mom, tugging on her arm and pleading to stay. The woman looked at her watch and gave a quick nod. By the look of her snazzy clothes, she wasnât the type to enjoy chunks of meat being fed to crocodiles. Probably more the caviar type.
âDid you know that crocodiles canât chew their food?â Beatrix chimed as I opened my bucket. I remembered to breathe through my mouth so I didnât get overcome by the stench of meat and fished out a piece.
âNow, watch.â I waved the meat at Louie from behind the fence. He approached the moat with a beady look in his eyes. Or maybe it was a normal look, seeing how crocodiles tend to look beady-eyed at the best of times. I tossed the meat straight to his head. I had to admit, my aim was perfect.
Beatrix and her mother gasped as Louie
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