The Wild Wolf Pup by Amelia Cobb Page B

Halloween event, too?”
    “That would be brilliant!” said Nicola immediately, her eyes wide. Zoe smiled. Her friend Nicola was really good at singing and even sang in the school choir.
    Lucy was nodding enthusiastically. “That’s a wonderful idea,” she said. “We’ll be setting up a little stage for the presentation of the fancy dress prize – maybe we could have a performance beforehand! The class could all wear their Halloween costumes and take part in the competition too. What do you think, Zoe?”
    Zoe nodded and did her best to seem excited, but her tummy was suddenly feeling funny. Zoe didn’t think she had a very good singing voice, and she felt nervous about singing in front of otherpeople, even though she would be with her friend Nicola. Singing together in assembly wasn’t too bad, because she knew all the other children at her school, so that wasn’t as scary. But performing in front of lots of strangers would be very different. And the tickets for the Spooktacular night were almost sold out already. There was going to be a huge crowd – more than two hundred people! And now they were all going to watch her sing.
    As Nicola skipped along, chatting excitedly about how much fun the performance was going to be, Zoe felt more and more worried. What was she going to do?

Chapter Two
Zoe’s Costume Puzzle
    Later that afternoon, when Miss Hawkins had taken the rest of Zoe’s class back to school to be collected by their mums and dads, Zoe and her mum decided to head to the zoo café to have a hot chocolate. As they walked there, Zoe thought that the zoo was looking really colourfuland pretty, with red and orange leaves fluttering down from the trees. She heard a little squeak behind her, and looked round. Something tiny, grey and furry was scampering excitedly towards them!
    â€œMeep!” called Zoe with a laugh. Meep was a tiny grey mouse lemur, with a long curling tail, bright golden eyes and a very cheeky face. He was Zoe’s best friend at the zoo. Lucy smiled as Zoe bent down to pick Meep up and give him a cuddle. “Where were you earlier?” she whispered to him so her mum couldn’t hear. “I thought you might come and see my class!”
    Zoe had a special secret, which nobody else in the whole world knew, not even her mum. She could talk to animals! It made living at the Rescue Zoo extraexciting, because every time Zoe heard an animal roar, bark, grunt or hoot, she understood exactly what they were saying, and could speak back to them.
    â€œI was going to come and see you,” explained Meep. “But first I had a little snooze. Then I felt hungry, so I had a snack. There are so many treats in the kitchen to nibble! I had a banana, an apple, some nuts and some seeds.” Meep rubbed his belly happily. “But then I felt sleepy again, so I thought I’d better have another nap!”

    Zoe giggled. Meep’s two favouritethings were sleeping and eating! Lucy had stopped to chat to the penguin keeper, so Zoe had a chance to reply. “That sounds like a nice day, Meep!” she said in a quiet voice, tickling his belly. “It’s probably just as well you didn’t come along anyway. Mr Pinch turned up and was grumpy with everyone. And you can never resist being extra naughty when he’s around!”
    Her mum finished her chat, and when they got to the café she bought them two mugs of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. They went to sit in a cosy corner, and Zoe gave Meep one of her marshmallows, which he nibbled happily.
    â€œWasn’t today fun, Zoe? It was lovely to have your whole class visit the zoo,” Lucy said, taking a sip of her drink. “And I loved Miss Hawkins’s idea about you all singingat the Spooktacular! You’ll be the stars of the whole show!”
    Zoe stirred her drink carefully and avoided her mum’s eyes. She didn’t want to admit that she was nervous about singing in front of