PeeWee and Plush by Johanna Hurwitz

Author:Johanna Hurwitz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2002-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

At the entrance to the zoo there is a big sign: Central Park Wildlife Center—Black Tie Optional. Underneath the words was a picture of an animal that I recognized from my previous visits to the zoo. It was a penguin.

“What does that sign say?” Plush asked me after she tried unsuccessfully to read it for herself.

I didn’t understand what the words Black Tie Optional meant, but since Plush couldn’t correct me, I guessed. “It says, ‘All are welcome.’ That’s why it’s so crowded here,” I explained.

There were many groups of children accompanied by adults. They were all so busy looking at animals inside the cages that no one noticed a pair of small animals at their feet. Nevertheless, Plush and I took care to spend most of our time hidden behind bushes or in shady corners where we weren’t noticed.

We arrived just before 11:30 A.M., which is when the zookeepers feed the three sea lions: Scooter, April, and Seaweed. They caught the small fish that were thrown to them and swallowed them whole. The children and adults applauded when one of the sea lions made a catch. But Plush and I agreed that we wouldn’t be so happy swallowing our food whole. In the first place, guinea pigs need to bite and chew to keep their teeth from getting too long. And what about taste? If you swallowed everything whole you’d never be able to taste anything at all!

I kept busy reading all the signs aloud to Plush. I was proud to show off my talent. “Snow monkeys live in troops of ten to eight hundred” I read aloud, although I could only see three inside the cage. They were busy scratching themselves.

“That’s just like Lexi and his squirrel relatives,” Plush pointed out. I’m not sure if she was referring to the scratching or the large family unit.

We moved on. There was lots of shrubbery in the zoo, so we always felt protected. Plush was stunned by the size of the giant polar bears. “They are the largest land-based carnivores in the world,” I told her.

“What are carnivores?” asked Plush.

“Meat eaters.”

“Are we meat?” she asked anxiously.

“No,” I told her. “We’re guinea pigs, we’re rodents, we’re mammals, but we’re not meat.” It was a lie. Of course we’re meat, but what was the sense in alarming her? I read aloud the list of foods that polar bears eat: “. . . mice, lemmings, hares, waterfowl, seabirds and their eggs, mussels, fish, carrion. . . .”

“Oh, you’re right. The list doesn’t say guinea pigs,” said Plush with relief, “though a nearsighted polar bear might mistake us for hairy mice.”

“In nature, polar bears live in very cold climates where guinea pigs would never exist. Only in a large zoo like this one can you find such a range of diverse animals from different climates,” I pointed out. “Besides there are thick glass walls between us and the bears.”

Plush kicked the glass wall in front of her with one of her front feet. Nothing happened.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.