Shenanigans At The Zoo

Toby the clever orangutan, Gloria the diva parrot, and Rufus the wise tortoise—escape their enclosures at the zoo and throw a wild, moonlit party. Their antics spark a hilarious weekly tradition, baffling the zookeepers as the animals fall asleep in the wrong habitats and also snooze all day Saturday which is the busiest day of the week at the zoo.

Music by Levgen Poltavskyi and LP-Studio-music

Transcript

Hello friends,

My name is Wendy Bee.

Thank you for joining me on today's adventure.

Today we are going to read a story called Shenanigans at the Zoo.

On a warm summer evening,

As the stars twinkled above and the city buzzed with its nightly hum,

A quiet zoo lay nestled on the edge of town.

The visitors had long gone,

Leaving only the soft rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl.

Behind the tall fences and locked gates,

Something unusual was about to happen.

Three unlikely friends,

Toby the clever orangutan,

Gloria the mischievous parrot,

And Rufus the sleepy but surprisingly cunning tortoise,

Were hatching a plan.

Toby swung lazily on his tyre swing,

Twirling a piece of straw between his fingers.

Guys,

He began glancing at his companions,

I've been thinking,

We've been stuck here for ages,

What if,

Just for one night,

We,

I don't know,

Shake things up a bit?

Gloria flapped her wings,

Her feathers shimmering in the moonlight.

You mean like a party?

Count me in,

I've got the best squawking voice for karaoke.

Rufus yawned,

His slow movements betraying the spark of excitement in his eyes.

A party sounds fun,

But how do we pull it off?

The zookeepers are pretty good at keeping us in.

Toby grinned,

A glint of mischief in his eyes,

Leave that to me,

I've been watching them and I have a plan to get the keys that opens all the gates.

The three exchanged a conspiratorial look,

And thus the great zoo escape plan was set into motion.

The next morning,

The zookeeper,

Whose name was Jim,

Came around to Gloria's enclosure to clean it and give all the parrots food.

Jim carried the key for all the zoo's habitats on a chain around his neck.

He carefully let himself into the parrots' habitat,

Whistling a merry tune while he began his work.

First he washed all the water bowls and gave the parrots fresh water.

While he was busy doing that,

Gloria flew down in front of him and began singing along to the same tune Jim was whistling.

She then began to dance in time to the merry song,

Displaying her gorgeous green feathers.

While she bopped up and down.

Jim was so enamoured with Gloria's performance that when she tried to climb up his arm and onto his shoulder,

He allowed her.

The zookeeper,

Who loved all the animals,

Was absolutely thrilled to have a beautiful parrot like Gloria sitting on his shoulder,

Singing a cheerful melody while he swept out her home and filled the food bowls.

Gloria,

However,

Used her feet to unclip the chain from around his neck.

Once she had the chain free,

She flew up to a high perch and carefully hid it.

When Jim finished his task,

He gathered up his broom and food sack and clicked the gate to Gloria's home closed behind him,

Which automatically locked itself.

He then went off to lunch,

Not realising he no longer had his key.

Gloria then signalled to Tilly,

The wild pigeon who lived in the trees behind her habitat.

Tilly,

Who had been friends with Gloria for many years,

Flew down to the corner of Gloria's fence.

Hello,

Tilly,

Gloria greeted her.

Here is the key.

Now take it over to Toby for me,

My dear.

And be careful not to drop it,

OK?

Coo,

Coo,

Tilly said.

I will get it to Toby immediately.

Tilly then picked up the key and transported it to Toby's house,

Placing it carefully in the palm of his outstretched hand.

Thank you,

Tilly,

Toby said,

Giving her a gentle rub on the crown of her head.

Coo,

Coo,

Tilly replied smiling,

And then she flew up to a nearby branch.

Tilly waited with a gleam in her eyes.

She,

Too,

Couldn't wait for the party to begin.

Toby waited until the clock struck midnight,

The time when even the most vigilant zookeeper was fast asleep.

He deftly opened the lock on his enclosure using the key.

With a satisfactory click,

The gate swung open.

Party time,

Toby said triumphantly,

Pumping his fist in the air.

He hurried to Gloria's aviary,

Where the parrot was eagerly waiting her turn.

Toby climbed the tree next to her cage and unlocked the lock.

Party time,

Gloria chirped,

Stretching her wings.

I thought you would never get here.

Together they made their way to Rufus's pen.

The tortoise was lounging beside a rock,

Snoring softly.

Rufus,

Gloria squawked,

Startling him awake.

Is it time already?

Rufus asked groggily,

Blinking up at them.

Toby used the key to unlock Rufus's enclosure,

And the gate swung open.

Come on,

Buddy,

We've got a zoo to wake up.

One by one,

The animals poured out of their enclosures,

Their excitement buzzing through the air like an electric current.

Under the glow of the moon and the twinkling stars,

The zoo transformed into a vibrant wonderland of animal chaos.

The monkeys wasted no time making mischief.

They gathered coconuts,

Hollered them out,

And used them as drums.

Spotting Rufus the tortoise slowly ambling by,

One of the monkeys hopped onto his shell,

Giving it a rhythmic tap.

Hey,

Rufus exclaimed,

Craning his neck back.

What do you think you're doing?

It's for the party,

One of the monkeys replied with a cheeky grin.

You've got the perfect drum surface.

Rufus rolled his eyes but didn't protest further.

Soon,

Three monkeys were perched on his shell drumming away in a perfect rhythm.

The deep,

Hollow sounds echoed across the zoo,

Forming the bass beat for the unfolding festivities.

Gloria,

Now fully embracing her role as the party headliner,

Flitted to the top of the lamppost and addressed the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Birds and beasts,

Are you ready for the greatest karaoke show ever?

The other birds cheered.

A peacock strutted into the center of the crowd,

Spreading his iridescent feathers like a shimmering disco ball.

Parakeets perched on nearby branches,

Chirping a cheerful melody.

Even the usually shy flamingos stepped in,

Adding a graceful harmony with their soft,

Melodic hums.

Alright,

Follow my lead,

Gloria squawked,

Launching into a spirited rendition of the Hokey Pokey.

The other birds joined in,

Their voices rising in harmony that filled the night sky.

The penguins waddled to the fountain,

Tapping their flippers in time to the beat,

While the smaller animals like meerkats and prairie dogs popped their heads out to listen,

Swaying to the music.

Not to be outdone,

The lemurs sprang into action.

A group of them gathered at the center of the zoo,

Forming a circle.

One particularly nimble lemur flick-flacked into the middle and began dancing,

His tail waving like a streamer.

The others clapped and hooted,

Joining in with somersaults and cartwheels.

Show us your moves,

Felix!

One of them shouted as the head dancers struck a pose,

Spinning in place with dizzying speed.

Soon,

The lemurs had formed a conga line,

Weaving through the crowd of animals.

Everybody join in,

They called,

Grabbing paws,

Flippers and hooves to expand their line.

The elephants trumpeted in delight and joined the line,

Shaking their massive trunks to the beat.

At the fountain,

The elephants decided to take up the ante.

Using their trunks,

They sprayed arches of water into the air,

Creating a sparkling display that refracted the moonlight into rainbows.

Step right up,

Folks!

Declared one of the young elephants.

Come dance under the water!

The zebras and giraffes eagerly joined in,

Galloping through the mist like children in a sprinkler.

Even the tigers,

Usually dignified and aloof,

Paddled over to enjoy the refreshing spray.

From his perch high above,

Toby decided it was time to take centre stage.

He swung down from the tree,

Snatching a tambourine from the snack station.

Let's turn it up a notch!

He shouted,

Shaking the tambourine in perfect rhythm with the monkeys drumming.

He spun and leapt,

His movements a mix of acrobatics and dancing,

Drawing cheers from the crowd.

Gloria swipped down to join him,

The two performing an impromptu duet,

Her singing paired with Toby's infectious beats.

Meanwhile,

Rufus had set up a snack station near the zookeeper's storage room.

He handed out bananas,

Apples,

And even a few loaves of bread to the hungry partygoers.

Remember to hydrate!

Rufus called,

Nudging a bucket of water towards the parched penguins.

A cheeky raccoon sneaked past,

Grabbing a slice of watermelon and balancing it on his head like a hat.

Nice hat,

Rocky!

Gloria squawked,

Bursting into laughter mid-song.

As the party reached its peak,

The zoo was alive with energy.

The monkeys drummed,

The birds sang,

The lemurs danced,

And every animal played a part in the celebration.

Even the grumpy old crocodile,

Who initially grumbled from his pond,

Couldn't resist tapping his tail to the beat.

This,

Toby declared from his perch,

Is the best night ever!

As the animals danced and sang under the moonlight,

They felt,

For the first time in their lives,

Truly free.

Hours later,

The morning sun peaked over their horizon,

Painting the zoo in soft hues of gold.

The zookeepers arrived early,

As they always did on Saturdays,

Ready to prepare for the busiest day of the week.

They had no idea the zoo had been the scene of a wild party just hours earlier.

However,

The aftermath of the festivities was undeniable.

In their exhaustion,

Many animals had wandered back to the wrong enclosures.

A particularly baffled zookeeper scratched his head when he passed the elephant's pen and saw a zebra sprawled on the hay,

Snoring loudly.

Did we move a zebra here for some reason?

He muttered to himself,

Jotting a note on his clipboard.

In the lion's den,

A cluster of penguins huddled together in a pile,

Blissfully unaware of their mistaken location.

The lions,

Far too tired to care,

Were snuggled up in the meerkat's burrows,

Tails hanging limply out of the holes.

At the flamingo pond,

Toby the orangutan was draped over a rock,

His arms dangling in the water.

A flamingo,

Clearly unimpressed,

Poked him with its beak.

Wrong house,

Buddy,

It muttered before settling down on the grass for another nap.

By mid-morning,

Visitors began to flood the zoo,

Eager to see their favourite animals.

But instead of lively exhibits,

They were greeted by an unexpected sight,

Complete stillness.

Mama,

Why isn't the tiger moving?

A little girl asked,

Pointing to the tiger enclosure where Rufus the tortoise was dozing on a rock.

I don't know,

Sweetheart,

The mother replied,

Puzzled.

Maybe he's just very,

Very tired.

At the monkey's habitat,

A sleepy giraffe slumped against a tree.

Its long neck swayed,

Swaying in the breeze.

This zoo is strange,

An elderly man remarked to his companion.

I swear,

That giraffe wasn't in here last week.

The zookeepers exchanged confused glances all morning.

It's like everybody decided to sleep in today,

One of them said,

Shaking his head.

By evening,

The zookeepers left,

Still scratching their heads over the unusual day.

Toby,

Who had awoken from his nap,

Surveyed the situation with growing concern.

Guys,

This is bad,

He muttered to Gloria and Rufus,

Who were perched nearby.

We can't let the zookeeper figure out what's going on.

They'll never let us party again.

So what do we do?

Gloria asked,

Fluffing her feathers.

We sneak everyone back to their right habitats tonight,

Toby said.

As the moon rose,

Toby swung into action,

Literally.

He unlocked his own habitat and set about unlocking the gates of all his friends.

All right,

Rufus,

You're going back to your pen first.

Toby said,

Gently nudging the sleepy tortoise towards his enclosure.

I don't know how you have so much energy,

Rufus mumbled,

But followed obediently.

Toby moved quickly,

Helping Gloria guide the penguins back to their icy home and coaxing the lions out of the meerkats' tunnels.

Come on,

Big guy,

He said to the lion,

Who let out a groggy roar before plodding back to his den.

The giraffes were the hardest to move,

As they had fallen asleep with their legs awkwardly splayed in the monkeys' habitat.

With the help of a few enthusiastic monkeys,

Toby managed to guide them back to their home.

By dawn,

All the animals were back where they belonged,

Just in time for the zookeepers to arrive.

The next morning,

The zookeepers were still perplexed by their animals' unusually lethargic behaviour,

But they didn't suspect anything unusual.

It must be the heat,

One of them said,

Fanning themselves with the clipboard.

Toby,

Gloria and Rufus shared a sly smile.

They had pulled it off.

But as fun as the party had been,

Toby knew they had to make a few changes if they wanted their secret tradition to continue.

That evening,

The three friends gathered under the big oak tree in Toby's enclosure.

All right,

Guys,

We need to rethink this,

Toby said,

Scratching his head.

If we keep partying on Friday nights,

We're going to get caught.

Saturdays at the zoo are just too busy.

Gloria flapped her wings thoughtfully.

What about Sunday nights?

The zoo is much quieter on Mondays,

And the zookeepers are usually too busy with paperwork to notice if we're a little tired.

Rufus nodded slowly.

I think it gives us an extra day to recover,

Too.

Sunday nights it is,

Then,

Toby declared.

From that day on,

The zoo animals embraced their new tradition.

Every Sunday night,

As soon as the last visitor left,

They threw their wild party again,

Complete with music,

Dancing and snacks.

And on Mondays,

When the zoo was at its quietest,

They slept soundly,

Dreaming of the next big celebration.

The zookeepers never figured out why the animals seemed so relaxed and sleepy on Mondays,

But the animals didn't mind.

Their secret was safe,

And their weekly parties were a roaring success.

The End Thank you,

My friends.

I hope you enjoyed today's story.

Now,

Sweet dreams and good night.