You Live in a Zoo

“Kevin?” called Mom. “Did you feed the monkeys yet?”

“Working on it,” replied Kevin. Kevin and his family lived in a zoo. It seemed a strange place to live except that Kevin’s parents were both zoo keepers and scientists. They had been studying animals for years.

On this particular morning, Kevin was anxious to get his feeding chores done and go skateboarding with his friends. Feeding the animals was a daily responsibility.

“Done!” hollered Kevin. “I’m going to go now, okay?”

“Wait,” called Kevin’s mom. “I only count six chimpanzees. What happened to Arthur?”

Kevin walked into the cage from the back. He didn’t believe his mom. But sure enough, he could only count six chimpanzees. This usually meant that they were hiding in a tree somewhere, but it still caused panic for Mom. Kevin began searching with his mother.

Where could that chimp have gone? Arthur had done this before. He was a curious chimp and was always getting into trouble. Kevin’s mom was really panicking this time. They couldn’t see or hear Arthur anywhere.

“Kevin, I think he’s really gone this time,” called Mom.

“No, Mom, he’s not,” said Kevin calmly.

“How can you tell?” asked Mom.

“Because I can see him in the tree right behind you. He’s crouched low so you can’t see him,” explained Kevin, smiling.

“That rascal!” called Mom.

“He’s just playing hide-and-seek, Mom. It’s all in a day’s work for a chimpanzee!” said Kevin.