The Eager Elephant by Amelia Cobb Read Free Book Online Page B

the Rescue Zoo for as long as Zoe could remember, and he was one of her favourite keepers. He had white hair, a deep, gentle voice and kind, grey eyes. Zoe knew that David had always wanted Oscar to have an elephant friend.
    Zoe held her breath as David stepped forward and opened the latch on the crate door. The door clattered to the ground and there was a moment’s silence. Then there was a high, excited trumpeting sound. The crowd gasped, and David gave a happy cheer. Zoe couldn’t help jumping up and down. “It
is
a babyelephant!” she cried.
    The tip of a little trunk poked out first, sniffing the air. Then there was a happy squeal and the baby elephant tumbled excitedly out of the crate. He stopped when he saw the crowd, staring curiously at everyone with big brown eyes.

    Zoe giggled as he took a few wobbly steps. “He’s the cutest thing
ever
!” she said, grinning.
    “Baby elephants can start walking onthe day they’re born, but this chap needs some practice,” Great-Uncle Horace explained. “Normally, the rest of his herd would have helped him to learn, but he was separated from them when he was just a few hours old. He was all alone and very upset when Kiki and I found him. We tried to find him a home at the local elephant orphanage but they didn’t have room for a new baby. That’s why I decided to bring him back to the Rescue Zoo.”
    The little elephant flapped his ears happily as he spotted Great-Uncle Horace. He plodded over, raised his trunk, and before Great-Uncle Horace could say a word, the baby elephant reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a custard cream! Zoe and Meep burst outlaughing as he popped it into his mouth and started crunching happily.
    “Albert discovered my favourite biscuits on the journey back from Africa,” explained Great-Uncle Horace, chuckling.
    “Albert? That’s a very grown-up name for a baby,” laughed Lucy.
    “Maybe we could call him Bertie for short?” suggested Zoe.
    Great-Uncle Horace’s eyes lit up. “Yes, Bertie suits his cheeky little character perfectly! Well done, Zoe.”
    Zoe grinned as she reached out and stroked Bertie’s head. Usually the animals told her their names when they arrived, but sometimes they were so small when Great-Uncle Horace rescued them that they didn’t even have a name yet!
    “He looks very healthy and happy,”Lucy said. “Although I wish he’d stay still long enough for me to have a proper look at his ears,” she added with a chuckle as Bertie galloped off through the crowd excitedly, lifting his trunk to sniff every single person. “I’ll give him a proper check-up later.”
    “Is he going straight inside his new home?” asked Zoe, glancing at Oscar. The gentle giant had put his huge head over his enclosure fence and was watching curiously.
    “We’ll have to do it carefully,” said David. “Elephants are very kind creatures, but Oscar isn’t used to living with a baby. He could squash Bertie accidentally.”
    Meep gave a worried squeak, and Zoe stroked him soothingly. She knew she could talk to Oscar and tell him to beextra careful around the new arrival, but she couldn’t tell David and the other keepers that!
    As the grown-ups started talking about the best way to introduce Bertie to Oscar, Zoe quickly glanced around. No one was looking, so she whispered very quietly to Meep. “We’ll have to talk to Oscar as soon as we can …” she began.
    But Meep wasn’t listening. “Look, Zoe!” he giggled, pointing a tiny finger.
    Zoe turned to see what Meep had spotted, and her face broke into a relieved smile. “Mum! David! Great-Uncle Horace! I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” she called. “I just know Oscar’s going to take really good care of Bertie. Look!”
    Everyone turned. Oscar was reachinghis long trunk right over the fence, and Bertie was standing underneath, holding his own little trunk up so that they touched. Zoe listened as Oscar trumpeted.

    She grinned. Oscar was so