Stef said. “I want to see the penguins. Waddle, waddle.” She pretended to walk like a penguin.
Macey sidled up to B. “Hon, what’s your little friend up to?”
B turned to see George bending low over some shrubbery, taking a big bite out of a leafybranch. “Oh, he’s always clowning around,” B said, then grabbed George and stepped on his toe. “Watch it, zebra-boy,” she whispered. “No grazing, okay?”
“But it smells so good!” George protested. “Don’t you want a bite, too?”
“No, and neither do you,” B said. “I brought some chocolate; want some?”
George stuck out his tongue. “Yick. No thanks.” B blinked. Was it just her imagination, or had George’s tongue gotten really long all of a sudden?
She steered George toward the penguin house, following the older girls. After the penguins they toured the aquarium, the reptile house, and then the aviary. George seemed bored, and B, who ordinarily loved the zoo, was anxious. She was in no mood to marvel at parrots or pythons. Zebras were her only research interest today.
At last she persuaded Dawn and her friends to join them for the African safari train ride. They climbed aboard and waited for the train car to fill. George bounced up and down on his seat and let loose another zebra whinny. Dawn and her friendssat halfway across the train and avoided looking at him.
The train car was three-quarters full when a young man in a zoo T-shirt got on board. “Hi, folks,” he said. “I’m Mack, and I’ll be your safari guide today. I’m a junior at Springfield State College, majoring in zoology.”
B noticed Dawn sit up a little straighter, and Angela adjust her hair.
“The most important safety rule today is to stay in your seats, and don’t, under any circumstances, attempt to open the door of the train car, okay? Remember, they look fascinating, but these are wild animals we’re dealing with. We don’t want anybody hurt — not the animals, and not you folks. Okay, everyone ready? Here we go.”
The train lurched forward. At first B saw nothing but trees.
“Giraffes!” a little girl cried.
Mack described the zoo’s giraffe families, including the two calves that had been born there thatyear, as the train chugged forward. B watched the giraffes eat leaves off the treetops until the train turned a corner and passed through another gate.
“There’s a special kind of animal in this enclosure,” Mack said. “Sometimes we don’t see them if they’re resting. Can anyone guess what’s in here?”
B scanned the grassy landscape, looking for black and white stripes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tawny flash of fur.
“LION!” George screamed. “RUN!” He raced down the aisle of the train car and climbed onto the rear seat, whinnying in terror.
“Whoa, buddy!” Mack cried. “It’s okay; you’re safe inside the train!”
B caught a glimpse of a brown mane and a huge, lanky body loping across the enclosure. She hurried down the aisle to George and yanked his arm till he sat down with a thud. Other zoo visitors shot disapproving glances at them, and Dawn sent B a
what-on-earth-is-going-on
look. B patted George’s shoulder until he settled down.
The train left the lion enclosure and entered the elephant area. The occupants of the train ran to the windows,
ooh
ing and
aah
ing about the baby elephants, and B sighed with relief as the focus shifted off the backseat.
“You okay, George?”
“I think so,” George panted. “Did you see the size of that guy? He could have eaten me for lunch!”
“Well, he didn’t,” B said.
“Look, zebras!” the same little girl cried. The train had entered another gated area.
B’s heartbeat raced. This was the moment. But here she was, stuck inside a train! How was she ever going to get her hands on a zebra hair? Could magic help? To be so close, and still not get a hair …
She could see the zebras now, some running through the field, others grazing placidly. They were
Macey sidled up to B. “Hon, what’s your little friend up to?”
B turned to see George bending low over some shrubbery, taking a big bite out of a leafybranch. “Oh, he’s always clowning around,” B said, then grabbed George and stepped on his toe. “Watch it, zebra-boy,” she whispered. “No grazing, okay?”
“But it smells so good!” George protested. “Don’t you want a bite, too?”
“No, and neither do you,” B said. “I brought some chocolate; want some?”
George stuck out his tongue. “Yick. No thanks.” B blinked. Was it just her imagination, or had George’s tongue gotten really long all of a sudden?
She steered George toward the penguin house, following the older girls. After the penguins they toured the aquarium, the reptile house, and then the aviary. George seemed bored, and B, who ordinarily loved the zoo, was anxious. She was in no mood to marvel at parrots or pythons. Zebras were her only research interest today.
At last she persuaded Dawn and her friends to join them for the African safari train ride. They climbed aboard and waited for the train car to fill. George bounced up and down on his seat and let loose another zebra whinny. Dawn and her friendssat halfway across the train and avoided looking at him.
The train car was three-quarters full when a young man in a zoo T-shirt got on board. “Hi, folks,” he said. “I’m Mack, and I’ll be your safari guide today. I’m a junior at Springfield State College, majoring in zoology.”
B noticed Dawn sit up a little straighter, and Angela adjust her hair.
“The most important safety rule today is to stay in your seats, and don’t, under any circumstances, attempt to open the door of the train car, okay? Remember, they look fascinating, but these are wild animals we’re dealing with. We don’t want anybody hurt — not the animals, and not you folks. Okay, everyone ready? Here we go.”
The train lurched forward. At first B saw nothing but trees.
“Giraffes!” a little girl cried.
Mack described the zoo’s giraffe families, including the two calves that had been born there thatyear, as the train chugged forward. B watched the giraffes eat leaves off the treetops until the train turned a corner and passed through another gate.
“There’s a special kind of animal in this enclosure,” Mack said. “Sometimes we don’t see them if they’re resting. Can anyone guess what’s in here?”
B scanned the grassy landscape, looking for black and white stripes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tawny flash of fur.
“LION!” George screamed. “RUN!” He raced down the aisle of the train car and climbed onto the rear seat, whinnying in terror.
“Whoa, buddy!” Mack cried. “It’s okay; you’re safe inside the train!”
B caught a glimpse of a brown mane and a huge, lanky body loping across the enclosure. She hurried down the aisle to George and yanked his arm till he sat down with a thud. Other zoo visitors shot disapproving glances at them, and Dawn sent B a
what-on-earth-is-going-on
look. B patted George’s shoulder until he settled down.
The train left the lion enclosure and entered the elephant area. The occupants of the train ran to the windows,
ooh
ing and
aah
ing about the baby elephants, and B sighed with relief as the focus shifted off the backseat.
“You okay, George?”
“I think so,” George panted. “Did you see the size of that guy? He could have eaten me for lunch!”
“Well, he didn’t,” B said.
“Look, zebras!” the same little girl cried. The train had entered another gated area.
B’s heartbeat raced. This was the moment. But here she was, stuck inside a train! How was she ever going to get her hands on a zebra hair? Could magic help? To be so close, and still not get a hair …
She could see the zebras now, some running through the field, others grazing placidly. They were
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