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Brave at the Zoo
A funny story for English learners (Level A2)
Written for young English learners
Main Characters
Ben
11 years old. He wants to be a superhero one day. He is brave, but he is also a little clumsy — he often trips, drops things, or bumps into walls.
Zoe
11 years old. Ben's twin sister. She is clever and quick. She always has a plan, and she loves to make jokes about her brother.
Oscar
12 years old. The funniest boy in the class. He loves dares and jokes. Under his jokes, he is actually very brave too.
Mia
11 years old. She loves animals more than anything. She wants to be a zoo keeper or a vet. Nothing about animals scares her.
Contents
Chapter 1. A Big Day at the Zoo
Chapter 2. Ziggy the Monkey
Chapter 3. The Snake Dare
Chapter 4. The Penguin Escape
Chapter 5. The Big Roar
Chapter 6. The Parrot's Secret
Chapter 7. Elephant Splash
Chapter 8. The Lost Boy
Chapter 9. The Great Zoo Race
Chapter 10. The Bravest Team
Final Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Answer Key
Notes for Teachers and Parents
Chapter 1. A Big Day at the Zoo
"Wake up, everyone!" said Mr Lopez, the class teacher. "Today, we go to the City Zoo!"
The school bus was full of noise. Everyone was talking and laughing. Ben sat next to his twin sister, Zoe. Behind them sat Oscar, who was already telling a joke to the boy next to him.
"Ten new animal facts," said Oscar. "That's my plan for today. Ten facts, and one really good story for Monday."
"Your plan is always the same," laughed Zoe. "Find one funny story and tell it a hundred times."
In front of them sat Mia. She had a small notebook. On the cover, it said MY ANIMAL BOOK.
"I want to see the tigers first," said Mia. "And the elephants. And the penguins. And—"
"And everything," said Ben, laughing. "Mia wants to see everything."
The bus stopped in front of two big stone lions at the zoo gate. Everyone jumped off the bus, excited.
A woman in a green uniform came to meet them. She had short hair and a big smile.
"Hello, class!" she said. "My name is Lucy. I am your zoo guide today. Welcome to the City Zoo!"
Lucy gave every group of four children a small yellow card. On the card, there were five tasks.
"This is the Zoo Challenge," said Lucy. "Five brave tasks for brave kids. Look: hold a snake in the reptile house. Find the loudest animal. Help a zoo keeper for five minutes. Take a photo with a bird on your arm. And find one lost thing, somewhere in the zoo."
"A lost thing?" said Ben. "What lost thing?"
"You will know it when you see it," said Lucy, with a small smile. "The zoo is a strange place today. Things... move around a lot."
Ben, Zoe, Oscar and Mia looked at their yellow card. Five tasks. One team.
"Brave tasks for brave kids," said Oscar, standing up tall. "I am ready. Let's go!"
"We need a team name," said Mia.
"The Brave Four," said Zoe.
"I like it," said Ben, smiling. "The Brave Four. Let's start the Zoo Challenge!"
None of them knew yet just how much of an adventure this day was going to be.
Vocabulary
twin
one of two children born to the same mother on the same day
uniform
special clothes that show what job a person does
challenge
a difficult and interesting task
reptile
an animal like a snake or a lizard
loud
making a big sound; the opposite of quiet
team
a group of people who work together
Comprehension Questions
1. Where does the class go on their school trip?
2. Who is Lucy, and what does she give the children?
3. What are the five tasks on the yellow card?
4. What team name do the four friends choose?
Exercise
Are these sentences True or False? Correct the false sentences.
1. The class goes to the City Zoo on a train. ___ True ___ False
2. Lucy is the class teacher. ___ True ___ False
3. The Zoo Challenge card has five tasks. ___ True ___ False
4. The team's name is 'The Brave Four'. ___ True ___ False
Chapter 2. Ziggy the Monkey
The Brave Four walked to the monkey house first. Inside, there were small brown monkeys, jumping from branch to branch.
"Look at that one!" said Mia, pointing. "He's watching us."
One monkey sat close to the glass. He had big, clever eyes. A sign on the wall said: ZIGGY — OUR CLEVEREST MONKEY. PLEASE HOLD YOUR THINGS CAREFULLY.
"Why does it say that?" asked Ben.
Nobody had an answer. But five seconds later, everybody understood.
Oscar leaned close to the glass to take a photo. His blue baseball cap was on his head. Suddenly, a small hand reached through a hole in the fence, very fast, and grabbed the cap right off his head.
"HEY!" shouted Oscar. "That's my hat!"
Ziggy the monkey sat on a branch, wearing Oscar's blue cap, looking very pleased with himself.
Everyone in the monkey house started laughing, even the other visitors.
"He looks better in it than you do," said Zoe, laughing hard.
"Not funny!" said Oscar, but even he was smiling a little.
A zoo keeper walked over, a young man with a kind face.
"Sorry about that," he said. "Ziggy loves shiny and colourful things. He is very clever, and very fast."
"How do we get the hat back?" asked Mia.
"Sometimes he trades things," said the keeper. "Give him something interesting, and he might give the hat back."
Ben quickly looked in his pockets. He found a small, shiny coin.
"Try this," he said, holding it up near the glass.
Ziggy looked at the coin. He looked at the cap. He looked at the coin again. Slowly, he put the cap down near the hole in the fence, and reached out for the coin instead.
"YES!" shouted Ben, grabbing the cap and giving it back to Oscar. "One monkey trade, complete!"
"Task two: done," said Zoe, writing on their yellow card. "The Loudest Animal — well, Ziggy was pretty loud when he was excited. Let's write that down and keep going!"
"Watch out for that monkey," said Oscar, putting his cap back on carefully. "I think this is only the beginning."
Vocabulary
branch
a part of a tree that grows out from the main part
grab
to take something quickly and suddenly
pleased
happy about something
trade
to give one thing and get another thing back
shiny
bright, like metal or glass in the sun
complete
finished
Comprehension Questions
1. What does the sign in the monkey house say about Ziggy?
2. What does Ziggy steal from Oscar?
3. How does Ben get the cap back?
4. How does the team decide to complete the 'loudest animal' task?
Exercise
Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box: grabbed, shiny, cap, trade, keeper.
1. Ziggy ___ Oscar's blue cap through the fence.
2. The zoo ___ said Ziggy loves shiny things.
3. Ben found a small, ___ coin in his pocket.
4. Ziggy made a ___ — the cap for the coin.
5. Oscar got his ___ back at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3. The Snake Dare
Next, the Brave Four walked into the reptile house. It was dark and warm inside, with glass boxes on every wall.
"Task one," said Zoe, reading the card. "Hold a snake in the reptile house."
In the middle of the room, a zoo keeper stood next to a table. On the table was a long, yellow snake, moving slowly in circles.
"This is Sunny," said the keeper. "She is friendly and very calm. Would anyone like to hold her?"
Oscar took one small step back.
"I... will watch first," he said. "For, um, safety reasons."
"Ben," said Zoe, a big smile on her face, "I dare you."
"A dare?" said Ben. He looked at the snake. His hands felt a little cold. But he remembered his plan: be brave, like a superhero.
"Okay," he said, walking forward. "I'll do it."
The keeper carefully put Sunny's body across Ben's arms. The snake felt cool and smooth, and surprisingly light.
"She's... actually kind of nice," said Ben, laughing with relief. "Not scary at all!"
Mia stepped forward next, completely calm.
"Can I hold her too?" she asked. "I love reptiles."
Mia held Sunny like an expert, gently and confidently, while Zoe took photos for the Zoo Challenge card.
"Now you, Oscar," said Zoe, turning to him. "Come on. Be brave."
Oscar looked at Sunny. He looked at his friends. He took a deep breath.
"Fine," he said. "But if she moves fast, I am allowed to scream a little."
Everyone laughed, and Oscar walked forward slowly. The keeper placed Sunny gently onto his arms.
For a second, Oscar's face was completely white. Then, slowly, a big smile appeared.
"This is actually amazing," he said, surprised. "I'm basically a snake expert now. Call me Oscar the Brave."
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