Joel and his girlfriend Danielle took their son Levi to the zoo one bright early sunny morning after church. It was Levi's idea and his parents were happy with that. They said okay. Levi was pleased.
They loved animals. There was a boa constrictor in their living room. Joel owned several reptiles and amphibians before he and Danielle knew each other. When they purchased their house they decided that one animal should be enough. They agreed on keeping the boa constrictor and ridding their house of the other critters. They advertised in the newspaper that they were giving away free animals. They were able to get rid of the animals within a few days.
Dressed in their Sunday best they enthusiastically got in the car in anticipation of the awesome animals that they would get to see at the zoo. Levi wanted to see the lion's den more than anything. He wanted to feed them raw steaks and take pictures of them. He was fascinated. Danielle wanted to see the ostriches while Joel wanted to see the aquarium. Joel liked sea turtles and thought they were neat.
Unlike many city zoos, the zoo they went to was located outside of the city limits next to the state park. This location allowed for a much larger area for the land mammals than the majority of city zoos. This was good for the zoo animals, giving them more space to roam around than usual.
On the drive to the zoo with Joel in the driver's seat they held a conversation about animals.
Joel asked his son Levi, “What is your favorite animal in the world.”
Levi replied, “The lions!”
Danielle said, “Really? Oh, and why do you say that?”
Levi shrugged and replied, “I don't know, they got really big teeth I guess.”
Joel said, “Maybe someday we will go shark fishing and we'll see if we can catch one and then eat us some shark steaks.”
Danielle said, “That sounds like an idea I can support! You want to go shark fishing Levi?”
Levi replied, “Yes!”
Joel said, “Alright, then we can plan our shark fishing trip when we get to the house and we are going to write our plans on the calendar. You're going to love shark fishing, son. We'll rent a boat and see what we can find.”
Levi replied, “Sounds great! I can't wait to go!”
Joel and Danielle smiled at each other.
Joel said, “When I was a boy like you I would go to the river with my friends. We'd bring fishing gear with us and catch trout. Those were the days.”
Levi said, “My friend's mom is a lifeguard on the weekends. She works at a county park. She says that she sees eels and fish all the time.”
Danielle replied, “Sounds great. I wonder how many eels she sees every day.”
Levi said, “I don't know. Maybe I should ask her!”
Joel said, “That's a great idea, son! Wow, look at that! A crocodile.”
Levi strained to look out the window. The crocodile was crawling slowly up the bank and toward some forested glades in the distance. Joel slowed as he drove past.
Levi said, “Aren't you glad you haven't accidentally walked into a crocodile? They can chomp pretty hard, dad.”
Joel said, “You're probably right, son.”
Danielle said, “Did you two notice that this crocodile is half yellow? Ever see a yellow crocodile?”
Levi said, “Yeah, yellow like a lemon pie.”
Joel said, “We're going to be there soon so hold your horses!”
Thirteen minutes later they arrived at the zoo. The zoo was very large indeed, giving the impression of a safari. The outside wall looked like it was over a mile in length.
Inside the reception building there was a single skeleton of a rhinoceros set up at the center of the room with a placard mounted on a podium that read, “Rhinoceros”. Joel, Danielle and Levi looked at the skeleton about a second and then went to the ticket counter where Joel bought his family their zoo passes. They were given maps of the zoo and closed soda thermoses for the drink stands scattered around the zoo.
Joel and his family the opposite side of the entrance building into the main area of the zoo. A crowd got together around a zoologist that held a baby panda in her arms. She fed the panda bamboo shoots and the baby eagerly chewed them down quick.
“Ah, isn't that a heart-throb?” said Danielle, “Look at that panda.” Joel, Danielle and Levi all joined the crowd and watched the zoologist feed the panda. She told the crowd fun facts about pandas while the crowd swooned. When the panda was done eating she invited the crowd to touch the panda's fur.
Danielle asked Levi, “Do you want to touch the baby panda?”
Levi replied, “Yes.”
All of them caressed the panda's soft fur. Danielle said, “What a beautiful animal and they're so peaceful too.”
When they were done with the panda Joel looked at his map to decide where they would go next. He said, “The lion's den is over there.” He pointed, then said, “Let's go see the lions first.”
At the lion's cage the walls were high enough that the lion couldn't get out. Levi leaned on the railing at the lion's den's edge. He said, “Oh my God, look what size that lion is!”
The lions stood there, not moving. Flies were irritating one of them.
When they were done observing the lions Joel said, “Great. We should get on the zoo bus now and do the mini-safari thing. When we're done with the zoo bus we can go ahead and see the aquarium. Sound good?”
Levi replied, “Yes. Sounds great!”
The zoo trip went well and made them all happy.