Animal at Large Read online

  Nana-Next-Door was filling the birdbath. “Everyone needs water on this hot day,” she said.

  Tori nodded, and kept going. She passed Luke’s house.

  Luke’s little sister, Benita, was playing with a puppy.

  “Where’s Luke?” Tori asked.

  Benita pointed toward the zoo with her thumb. “He’s helping my grandfather with the giraffes.”

  Tori leaned forward. “Does Luke like to scare people?”

  Benita leaned forward too. “He scared me once. Whoo!”

  “I think he’s scaring me too.”

  Benita frowned. “Maybe not.”

  Tori shrugged. She marched through the iron zoo gates.

  Inside an exhibit, a black leopard lay across a tree branch.

  Tori shaded her eyes.

  A flamingo strutted by. It must have eaten a pile of shrimp. That’s why it looked so pink.

  Giraffe Neck was around the corner. Tori looked up at the giraffes.

  They were friendly, not like lions or tigers. Especially not like crocodiles.

  And there was Luke. He was sweeping the path in front of Giraffe Neck.

  Tori ducked behind Lions’ Lair.

  One of the lions yawned.

  It had more teeth than she could count.

  She stood on tiptoes to see.

  Luke put the broom in the shed. Then he headed down another path.

  Tori followed him.

  He bought a bag of popcorn at the Blue Zoo Stand.

  Tori’s mouth watered. Too bad her allowance was gone.

  She’d spent it on…

  She couldn’t remember.

  Luke ran just ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder.

  Tori jumped back.

  Luke turned the corner. He raced down another path.

  He was really fast.

  Tori hurried.

  Luke stopped at Penguin Place. He looked over his shoulder.

  Tori took a breath.

  He was coming toward her.

  She was ready to run.

  Too late.

  He was right there.

  Staring at her!

  CHAPTER 10

  “GOTCHA,” Luke said.

  Tori waved at the popcorn stand. “I was…”

  “You were following me.”

  “I guess so.” She gulped. “You think I’m tough?”

  He blinked. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  She held out her wrist. “See, I even got a scratch.”

  “Ouch,” he said.

  “From the sticker bush. You’d better stop hiding there too.”

  He shook his head. “I never go near those things.”

  Could she believe him?

  He held out the bag of popcorn. “Want some?”

  “Thanks.” She took a handful.

  “Say tough,” she said after she swallowed.

  “Tough,” he said.

  Too bad his mouth was filled with popcorn. It didn’t sound like the voice behind the sticker bush. It sounded like crunching popcorn.

  She thought of something else. She’d show him what happened to her nails the first time someone was in the bush. “Did you mess up my nails?”

  Luke blinked. “What?”

  She waved her fingers.

  “Polka dots.” He looked closer. “Something sharp did that.”

  He was right.

  Luke knew a lot.

  Maybe too much.

  Luke’s dad, the zoo doctor, popped his head out from the Baby Zoo.

  “I need some help, Luke.” He smiled at Tori.

  Luke held out the popcorn bag again. “See you,” he said.

  Tori took another handful.

  Back home, Sumiko and Ken were eating breakfast. Eggs with cheese.

  “The worst,” Tori said.

  Sumiko grinned. “The best.”

  Tori grabbed a banana instead. “Let’s go out to the patio,” she said.

  She didn’t want to go alone. But she needed cool water from the hose.

  “I’ll have a surprise soon,” Ken said.

  What was that about? She raised her shoulders.

  Sumiko did too.

  CHAPTER 11

  SHE and Sumiko sank down on the patio.

  Tori took a bite of her banana.

  The banana was perfect; so was the water on her feet.

  She pulled out the missing papers.

  “Hey,” Sumiko said. “It’s not windy.”

  “Just hot,” Tori said.

  “Then why is the butterfly bush moving?”

  Tori looked at the kitchen door. It was only a few steps away.

  No. She wasn’t going to run inside.

  Not this time.

  She left the banana on the table.

  At the edge of the patio, she pulled a branch aside.

  “Ouch!”

  She stared in.

  It was Luke’s little sister, Benita.

  “Hey!” Tori said.

  Benita crawled out. Her arms were covered with scratches. She had stickers in her hair.

  “I want to hear it,” Tori said.

  “What?” Benita rubbed her arm.

  “Say tough.”

  Benita put her hands on her hips. “Luke told me all about it. You think I’m the one now?”

  “What’s happening?” Sumiko asked.

  “I’m hiding in here to help my brother,” Benita said. “I’m looking for the bad guy.”

  Tori took a breath. She had to believe Benita. She would have helped Ken too.

  Benita marched off the patio.

  There was another sound. Not tough. Almost like a frog. Galumph. Galumph.

  A frog?

  CHAPTER 12

  KEN jumped out from the other side of the patio. “It worked!” he yelled.

  He went to the sticker bush. He pulled string after him. Then he took out a cup and wet cloth.

  There was a flurry of branches. Tori saw a flash of green.

  “My latest experiment from a book,” Ken said. “How to sound like a frog.”

  “Not a missing frog,” Sumiko said.

  “No.” Tori took a bite of banana.

  She was thinking, though. She was using her brain.

  Something was hiding behind the sticker bush.

  It was something that liked the patio. Why?

  A gray catbird flew past.

  Something that liked the feeder seed?

  Something green?

  She went inside. She raced into her bedroom and threw herself on the floor.

  She sneezed about four times.

  Too bad she hadn’t dusted the rug better.

  Ah, but there they were: pictures of sparrows, of red-winged blackbirds, of…

  She dashed outside.

  She tiptoed across the patio.

  “Hey,” she whispered. “I solved the mystery.”

  “Tough,” came the voice.

  “It’s a rare bird,” she said. “An Amazon parrot missing from the zoo.”

  “A talking bird,” Sumiko said.

  Sumiko sat at the table. She played with the torn papers. “You’re right,” she said. “It all fits.”

  “Wow,” Ken said. “Hanging out in our sticker bush. Eating the seed. A parrot who says…”

  “Tough,” came the voice.

  Tori tiptoed to the sticker bush. She pulled a branch aside. Never mind the scratch she’d get.

  She had to get a look at the bird.

  It sat on the highest branch, staring down at her with shiny dark eyes. Its coat was bright green.

  It threw its head back and…

  Was it laughing?

  Tori smiled as she ran across to Nana-Next-Door’s house. Nana would bring the bird back where it would be saf
e.

  And then, Tori would write her life story.

  It wouldn’t be boring.

  She lived on Zoo Lane, next to a zoo.

  She had a brother who tried new things. And one of them worked.

  Her cousin and best friend came from Tokyo, Japan.

  She kept Kimi indoors. It helped the wildlife.

  And she had found a rare Amazon parrot. And mostly because of a dusty rug.

  Miss Raymond would love it.

  She loved it too.

  MORE ABOUT WILD ANIMALS

  AMAZON PARROTS

  Some parrots are green with red tails. Others have bright blue fronts. Some have orange wings, and some have yellow on their foreheads. Parrots are friendly. They can be trained to talk, sounding like people. Tough! Some live as long as forty or fifty years.

  OSTRICHES

  They’re the largest birds, and because they can weigh up to three hundred pounds, they can’t fly! But they can run! When running long distances, they can travel about thirty miles an hour. But when they’re in a hurry, watch out! They can run sixty miles an hour when they are covering short distances. They like veggies, but will settle for insects if they have to.