Petie Pest and Bailey on Zoo Island.

Petie Pest and Bailey’s Zoo Island

Hi, I'm Bailey. I live on an island. It's called Zoo Island! Daddy is the Head Zookeeper. He says all kinds of animals live on Zoo Island, including lions, camels, tigers, goats, bears, seals, walruses, and reptiles. Reptiles lay eggs and have scaly skin. Lizards are reptiles.

Do you know any other reptiles?

My best friend in the Zoo is Petie, the little Pig.

And Petie is always asking,

"What time is it?"

Especially if he is about to try something funny or copy the other animals.

Some people call him Petie Pest because he's always making a mess and getting into trouble.

We love Summertime because Petie and I get to play and have fun. Today, Petie and I dressed like Pirates and explored Treasure Island!

Petie even wore a black patch over his eye, but it kept falling as we walked.

Do you get to play 'dress-up'?

What do you like to dress up as?

Our first stop was the Walrus show.

We stopped to watch the Walrus do tricks.

"Oar-Oar! Ar-Ar! Bellowed Walrus, while balancing a red and blue ball on his big mustache.

His mustache twitched back and forth, causing the colorful ball to spin.

The crowd clapped at Walrus's tricks.

A little girl in the crowd shouted,

"Catch Petie!" Tossing Petie her beach ball, he caught the ball on his nose just like a Walrus.

"See, I can do that."

Petie said, his eyes beaming, curly pigtail wiggling.

Petie's eye patch fell off, causing Petie to trip.

"Oh no, look out!” Shouted Petie.

The ball flew high in the air and across the crowd, hitting the announcer on the head.

"Petie, you Pest!

Cried the announcer, grabbing the beach-ball and tossing it to Walrus, who tossed the ball back to the little girl.

The crowd laughed as we ran out of the Walrus Show and down the path to the corner of "Monkeys and Marmosets."

I snorted every now and then to tease Petie,

“Oink-Oink”, “Oink-Oink”.

Which made us laugh.

Can you make funny animal sounds like a Walrus or Pig?

Petie and I stopped at the marmoset exhibit. A Marmoset is a small monkey with a long tail that loves to swing in the trees.

A silly Marmoset swung from the 'monkey bars'; his tail curled around the bar. Swinging from the top of the bar and down to the bottom in fast circles. He caught another bar with his tail and swung again, but he let go too soon this time. The swinging monkey fell from the monkey bars and hit the ground with a thud!

Standing up, eyes crossed, holding his head and making monkey sounds, he cried,

"Oo-Ooo-Ee-Eee

while walking in zigzags before running into a big fat tire lying in his pen. The other monkeys laughed at the poor, dizzy monkey.

Petie looked at the monkeys, then back at Bailey, and asked;

"What time is it?"

Bailey responded by grabbing a fence post.

Petie curled his tail around the other post.

They both began to run in circles like monkeys, spinning faster and faster. Then, losing their grip, Bailey and Petie flew across the sidewalk, crashing into a Billy Goat's tree.

The Billy Goat was busy eating the tender leaves.

"Help!”

Shouted Billy Goat as he hit the ground, leaves and dust flying everywhere.

"Now see here, I am a Billy-Goat, and I expect better 'manners,' what are your names? I 'demand' to know!"

Bleated the shook-up goat.

Bailey picked himself off the ground, brushing the dirt away, and smiled,

"They call me Bailey, and this is my friend Petie Pest; we're exploring in the Zoo today”.

Petie asked Billy Goat;

"Did you fall from that tree"?

Goat chewed the leaves from the tree, looking at the two dirty characters.

"Yes, if you must know, I was eating some juicy green leaves when you knocked me down from my tree. Billy is my name. We Goats can eat almost anything, but I like tender green leaves".

"It's nice to meet you, Billy. Do you want to go exploring with us?"

Petie asked.

Bailey jumped up and down, clapping.

"Yeah, Billy, it will be fun; come with us!"

"Naa, Naa, not today, I have much too much to do";

The silly Billy-Goat grunted, jumping back into his small tree and reaching for more leaves.

"'Muuuch' too much to do."

Billy Goat did not like playing. He was happy to live in his tree, watching the Zoo antics while eating sweet, tender leaves.

What kind of games do you like playing?

Petie and I walked past the chattering Otters and the Big Cats. It was getting close to feeding time, and the lions and tigers were hungry and starting to roar.

The lions and tigers were the favorites of many zoogoers.

What is your favorite zoo animal?

We decided to visit the Lizards today. We reached the reptile exhibit and walked down the rows of glass pens holding different types of lizards. We watched a fat pink lizard stand in her glass pen and wave to us. A red lizard in the glass pen next to the pink lizard sat with its legs crossed, basking on a rock under a light. A small voice called out from a few pens down.

"Hey, you two! Hey, Pig over here!”

Inside a large glass pen was a lizard that kept changing colors! Petie was amazed as he walked up to the glass;

"Hello, my name is Petie; what's yours, and how are you changing colors"?

The lizard laughed and said,

"Can't you read? My name is Lenny. I'm a Chameleon.”

Petie looked up at the sign that read;

"Lenny the Panamanian Chameleon can change colors to match his background."

What are you doing, Pig?

Petie held his breath to see if he could change colors, too;

Petie was starting to turn red.

"I'm trying to change colors like you."

Lenny just laughed.

"Silly Pig, only Chameleons can change colors, not pigs.

"It's getting late, Petie. I think we'd better get back home. It was nice meeting you, Lenny. I hope we see you again."

"It was nice meeting the two of you; come back anytime."

"What time is it, Bailey?"

"It's time to head back home, Petie! Want to race?"

Without answering, Petie was off and running, with Bailey shouting behind him,

"No fair Pig, you have four legs!"

"What time is it, Bailey? Time to smell you later!"