Zoobreak Read Free Page A

disappeared into a small cabin marked OFFICE.
    The class followed Mr. Martinez through a low hatch and gathered around the first exhibit. There, a dim bulb cast a yellowish glow into a small mesh cage. Inside cowered a beady-eyed furry creature that would have fit in the palm of any of their hands.
    “A chipmunk?” Pitch exclaimed in disbelief. “I almost stepped on one of these on the way to school this morning! This is from the four corners of my yard, not the four corners of the
earth
.”
    Savannah shushed her sharply. “Animals may not speak our language, but they can sense if you don’t respect them. He has feelings, you know.”
    “This is only the first exhibit,” soothed Mr. Martinez. “I’m sure they have more exciting things to show us. Let’s reserve judgment until we’ve seen the entire collection.”
    They continued their tour of the paddle-wheel steamer and its caged exhibits. The closer they got to the heart of the ship, the more the smells and the stale air intensified.
    There were some interesting animals — a meerkat, a prairie dog, a chuckwalla, and a great horned owl, which opened one big yellow eye and looked baleful at their interruption. But they all seemed undersized and listless. And the rest of the collection was incredibly ordinary, an assortment of hamsters, frogs, garter snakes, turtles, mice, and a ferret that was either very young or just plain puny. A sickly chicken marched nervously around a cage marked FARM ANIMALS, next door to a skin-and-bones piglet.
    The class wandered among the displays in stunned silence.
    Ben tapped Griffin on the shoulder. “Is it just me, or is this place really, really lame?”
    “This place would have to rise up five hundred percent to improve to lame,” Griffin agreed. “Look at Mr. Martinez. I don’t think he’s too thrilled.”
    “Never mind him,” said Ben. “Check out Savannah.”
    Savannah Drysdale was so outraged that she actually radiated heat. She darted from cage to cage, and each new discovery twisted her face further out of shape.
    “This habitat hasn’t been cleaned in days!” she seethed. “The water is dirty and brackish! The ferret cage is half the size it should be! How can a growing baby develop muscle tone without room enough to turn around? The meerkat and chuckwalla need extra heat! The loon barely has a feather left! The beaver is high and dry!”
    Griffin stepped in front of her. “Savannah — take a breath —”
    “I’m not going to breathe!” she insisted. “None of the animals can breathe in this torture chamber! Why should
we
breathe?”
    At that moment, Mr. Nastase appearedbeside the owl enclosure. “Is there a problem?”
    “This whole place is a problem!” Savannah couldn’t hold herself back — she was genuinely fuming. “It’s too dark; it’s not properly ventilated; the animals are neglected, undernourished —”
    “I’m sure you’re mistaken, young lady,” the zookeeper said stiffly, his deep frown forming the lines of his mustache into an arrowhead. “Perhaps you’ll be happier with our newest addition, our pride and joy.” He led the group through a hatch to a smaller cabin, which held a single cage.
    Griffin could already hear the sound of wild scrambling from within that enclosure, followed by excited animal chatter.
    The scream that came from Savannah was barely human.

5
    “ C leo!!
”
    Savannah bounded across the cabin and pressed her face against the mesh of the cage. The capuchin monkey nuzzled up to her, screeching wildly.
    “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m here.” She wheeled on the zookeeper, eyes shooting sparks. “What are you doing with my monkey?”
    His mustache was nearly two vertical lines. “There must be a misunderstanding. Eleanor is our latest attraction at
All Aboard Animals
.”
    “She’s not Eleanor, she’s Cleopatra! And she’s
mine
!”
    “My dear —”
    “I’m not your dear! You stole my monkey!”
    Mr. Martinez stepped between them. “What’s