Trouble at the Zoo
Read Trouble at the Zoo Online
Authors: Bindi Irwin
Copyright © Random House Australia 2010
Cover photograph © Australia Zoo
Cover and internal design by Christabella Designs
Cover and internal design © 2011 Sourcebooks, Inc.
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
The characters and
events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.
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First published by Random House Australia in 2010.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the publisher.
Source of Production: Versa Press, East Peoria, Illinois, USA
Date of Production: December 2010
Run Number: 14207
As the sun rose on another beautiful day on the Sunshine Coast, an enormous Burmese python slithered slowly into a bedroom. In the distance, the call of the ring-tailed lemurs signaled the start of a new day. Lying asleep in bed, the young girl didn’t notice the snake’s progress.
Hisssssssssssss
. The snake took a leisurely route toward the bed, slowly winding up the bedpost until its head came to rest on the pillow. The snake’s tongue flickered in and out, touching the girl’s face.
The girl’s face twitched a little, but her eyes remained closed. The snake let out another quiet
hisssssssssssss
.
The girl’s hand reached out and slowly came to rest on the head of the snake.
“Hmmm. Feels…scaly?” Bindi Irwin opened her eyes and smiled.
The snake smiled back.
“Have you come to wish me a happy birthday, Basil?”
Bindi’s mum, Terri, and her brother, Robert, entered the bedroom, still in their pj’s, and started singing. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
Bindi jumped out of bed, super-excited. “Yay!”
She rushed over to her mum and brother, and gave them both a big hug.
“Robert thought Basil would make a perfect birthday alarm clock,” Terri said with a smile.
“Good thinking, little buddy,” Bindi replied. “What’s for breakfast, Mum?”
“I think you might already know the answer to that, Bindi,” Terri replied.
“Woohoo, it’s pancakes!” Robert and Bindi high-fived. Robert moved over to the bed to pick up Basil, who looked like he would be quite happy to snooze on Bindi’s bed for the rest of the day.
“Come on, lazybones,” Robert said as he lifted the snake onto his shoulders. “We’ve got pancakes to eat!”
He zoomed out of the room toward the kitchen.
Terri looked down at Bindi and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Our little girl’s growing up. Your dad would have loved to have been here today, sweetheart.”
Bindi gave her mum’s hand a squeeze. “I know, Mum,” she said. “He’d have wanted it to be a fantastic day.”
“And it will be,” Terri replied, looking at her watch with a worried expression. “Oops. As long as we get a move on!”
Bindi and Terri headed off down the hallway. “You and Basil better have left some for us, Robert!” Bindi called out along the way.
The Irwin family lived at Australia Zoo. They were a family dedicated to wildlife conservation. Bindi’s dad, Steve, had helped change attitudes toward crocodiles with his huge enthusiasm and love for the creatures. Australia Zoo had started off as a reptile park, and they still loved their reptiles, but it had now grown into a big beautiful zoo, complete with giraffes, tigers, and elephants, as well as a whole swag of gorgeous Australian animals.
After Bindi’s dad had passed away, Bindi had made a promise to continue her dad’s great work alongside her family. She planned to keep that promise for the rest of her life. And her birthday was a yearly reminder of all the good that could come of passing on the message of wildlife conservation to as many people as possible.
She loved her birthday parties at Australia Zoo. This year was an underwater-themed birthday, and money earned from the day would go toward preventing whaling in Antarctica.
Bindi and Robert had just finished their last mouthfuls of delicious pancake when there was a knock at the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Robert said, and ran to open the door. There on the doorstep was a very pretty mermaid. “Ummm, Bindi, there’s a mermaid here.” Robert cast a suspicious look at the mermaid and sped off down the hallway.
Bindi raced to the door. “Oh my gosh, you look amaaaazing, Rosie!”
Rosie Bellamy was Bindi’s best friend. They had known each other since they were tiny. Rosie’s dad was a vet at the Wildlife Hospital, and her mum worked at the zoo too, so Rosie and Bindi got to spend heaps of time together.
Rosie laughed. “I wasn’t sure if all the glitter was a bit much. I think I sort of scared your brother away!”
Bindi giggled. “I promise you, Robert doesn’t scare that easily.”
Rosie held up a bag. “Happy birthday! I’ve got it. And it’s gonna look awesome.”
Bindi squealed with excitement. “Come on, let’s go to my bedroom and try it on.”
“Okay. But don’t walk too fast. Mermaids are more used to swimming than walking!”
Ten minutes later a very regal-looking emperor penguin was knocking at Bindi’s bedroom door. “Bindi, Rosie, are you ready? We’ve got a zoo to open!”
From behind the closed door, Terri the emperor penguin could hear giggling. “Come on, girls…”
“Almost ready, Mum. Just putting the finishing touches—” Bindi’s voice dissolved into giggles once more.
A moment later, the door opened.
Rosie the mermaid stepped out, pulling the door closed behind her. “Hi, Terri. Wow, nice outfit. I have something very important to tell you: Bindi is no longer in the bedroom. Instead, I would like to introduce you to the one, the only, Stella the sea horse!”
Rosie opened the door and a twirling, whirling vision of sparkliness made her way out of the bedroom. Bindi was dressed in a golden-colored leotard with a layered golden skirt. The back of the leotard was draped in shimmery golden material, which looked like the frill along a sea horse’s spine. She also wore a mask with a long, delicate nose. Bits of emerald green material, looking like seaweed, were strewn across Bindi’s costume.
Terri was impressed. “Wow, girls. I think this underwater-themed birthday is going to be a hit! You’ve made such a great costume for Bindi, Rosie.”
Rosie blushed. “Oh, it was nothing really. You know me and Mum like sewing—”
Bindi interrupted her friend. “It is NOT nothing. It’s awesome. I love sea horses. They’re such graceful and gentle creatures, and this costume is the best present ever.” Bindi gave Rosie a big hug.
Terri pulled out a camera. “Okay, girls, we’ve got time for a quick photo. Now hold it—one, two…”
“Cockatoo!” The girls struck a pose, which was interrupted a millisecond later by Robert, dressed as a blue-ringed octopus, launching himself between the two girls. Robert misjudged his jump—“Ro-bert!”— and the two girls shrieked as all three sea creatures tumbled down in a tentacled, seaweedy heap, just as Terri took the photo.
Picture perfect—not!