Peaty and the Lions

Jaja and Zera had been brought to the Bronx Zoo only one night before. Their new home was strange, with trees that didn’t quite seem right, water that didn’t quite taste good, and with strange people watching them all day.

After a long day of trying to get used to their new home, the two cubs retreated to the back of their pen exhausted. They chose to sleep under the safety of a great tree, but just as they were falling asleep, they heard rustling from the enclosures that neighbored them. Once again curious, the siblings walked over to the fence to ask the gorillas what was going on.

Big Mama, one of the kindest and most respected gorillas, stopped when her companions didn’t, willing to inform the cubs what was happening. “The animals are going to listen to what the Zoo keeper is going to do with the older Zebras.”
“What do you mean?” Jaja asked confused.
“When animals get too old to live here any more, they are taken to a different place, and we don’t see them again,” Big Mama replied calmly. This frightened the cubs, and they ran to the back of their pen.

“We can’t let that happen to us!” Zera exclaimed. “I don’t want to be stuck here not knowing what happened to you Jaja.” Jaja shook his head, agreeing that being separated from his sister would be awful, even if it was far in the future at this point.
“We must escape before it’s too late,” Jaja decided, searching the cage for an exit. And then he saw it, a small hole in the wire net near the top of the great tree. “Come, Zera.” Zera followed her brother up the great tree to the highest branch where the cubs took a great leap to make it out of the small hole in the wire net, squeezing through to the outside world.

Once the lions had made it out of the Zoo’s gate, they felt happy and safe. Only for a moment though, for large metal vehicles rushed by making awful roaring sounds, scaring the cubs. And what was worse, when the siblings saw a woman walking down the street she screamed with terror shortly after seeing them. Knowing that if something so much bigger sensed danger, the cubs dashed away, finally finding a tree to hide next to. Eventually the pair fell asleep.

When morning came, the fear from the night before melted away from the cubs, but they were hungry. They smelled the wonderful sent of meat, and with their stomachs growling, followed their noses to its location.

They found their prize in the hands of a small boy sitting on a bench. Slowly, the cubs made their way to the bench, sitting on the ground next to the boy, and looking up at him hopefully. “Hey,” The boy said, a wide grin covering his dark brown face. “What’s up?” He asked the cubs, and they began to meow, nearly begging for the food now. The boy looked at the hot dog he was eating, realizing that it was what the lions wanted. “Oh, I get it,” the boy said, and then split the hot dog in half, giving half to Zera and half to Jaja. “I’m Peaty by the way,” The boy said introducing himself to the cubs.

Peaty, Jaja, and Zera spent the day together, Peaty showing the lion cubs the new world of what he called New York City. They took a noisy snakelike thing made out of metal to a different part of the city. Peaty hid the cubs in his backpack, saying that they were not really allowed on “the subway.”

The small group weaved their way through the enormous buildings and hot streets, more of the loud metal vehicles rushing everywhere. Thousands of people passed them, all of different shapes, sizes, and colors. It was all new and exciting to the cubs.

Peaty took them to the center of all the buildings where a lush park existed, and the three played for many hours on the lawns, in the trees, and even in some of the playgrounds. When it began to get late in the day again, Peaty snuck the cubs onto the subway in his backpack again, and then brought him to his house once they were back to where the boy had met the cubs.

Peaty made them food in his small apartment, cooking all the meat he could find. The cubs feasted until their bellies were so full they were sure they might explode. Peaty also made himself dinner once he was sure the cubs were satisfied, and then all of them watched a movie on the couch. The cubs were tired though, and they quickly fell asleep.

Peaty’s mother, Miss Vasser soon came home, and was surprised to see the lions sitting with her boy. She asked Peaty about them, and he told her about his day with the lions. Miss Vasser could see that the Jaja and Zera brought her son much joy, but knew that as they grew, she would not be able to support both her son and the lions. Reluctantly, Peaty agreed to return the cubs to the zoo.

Jaja and Zera were no longer scared at the zoo though. Peaty came to visit them almost daily, making sure that they were always taken care of. Sometimes he would even bring the pair treats, and did so for many years, the lions growing older as Peaty into a young man.

When it came to the day that Jaja and Zera were too old to be in the Zoo any longer, they were worried, especially when Peaty didn’t show up to say good bye. The zoo keepers lead them out into crates and they were shipped away from the Bronx, out of New York and into a suburb outside of the city in West Chester County.

When they were finally allowed off the trucks and out of the crates, the first thing the cubs saw was Peaty! He had bought a large plot of land, and set up the backyard for the lions to live in. And so it was, Peaty, Jaja, and Zera had many, many happy years together in their wonderful new home.