Henry-Angus in the zoo
Henry-Angus Shorts #2. In which Henry-Angus first watches TV detective shows.
Henry-Angus Shorts are short stories about Henry-Angus that don’t feature a crime to investigate. If you’re missing a crime-fighting caper, revisit his very first case.
Each day the twins and their parents were learning something new about living with a panda. They learnt that Henry-Angus loved shortbread and disliked school, that he ate bamboo and even how he got his name. But there was one part of his life that they knew nothing about.
That was until one day at dinnertime. The twins were eating and the twins’ father blurted out the question they had all been wondering.
“So Henry-Angus,” he said. What was it like at the zoo?”
“DAD!” yelled the twins.
“Julian!” said the twins mother. “We spoke about this. We weren't going to ask Henry-Angus about the zoo until he was ready to discuss it.”
Henry-Angus didn't notice the family's reaction. He had a far-away look in his eyes.
After a moment he turned to the twins’ dad and said: “Hmmm. The zoo. I never liked it. Too many people staring at you and trying to get your attention from behind the glass. Humans can be quite boring some times.”
At this point Henry-Angus pulled a face.
“That's why I had to escape! If I wanted to start my career as a detective, I had to leave.”
Before he could stop himself, Peter had to ask another question: “But there must have been some things you liked about the zoo?”
“Hmph,” came the reply. “Well at night, it was better because all the humans had gone home so we could have some fun. We used to sneak into the zookeepers’ staff room and watch TV shows. That's how I learnt everything I know about being a famous detective.”
“Did you have friends at the zoo?” asked Percy.
Henry-Angus had that far-away look in his eyes again.
“Hmmm yes. I made friends with most of the monkeys. But they were always noisy when the TV was on so it was hard to watch my detective shows when they were around.”
“The lions weren't much fun, they slept all day and had no interest in fighting crime.”
“But my best friend was George the elephant. People don't know this, but elephants and pandas have a lot in common. And George had a long trunk, so he could help me reach the top of the bamboo where the juiciest leaves are.”
And with that thought, Henry-Angus licked his lips. He was starting to feel hungry again. Without warning, he turned to the family and said, “Do we have any shortbread?”
The twins and their parents were a bit surprised by this sudden change in topic. But they had learnt that when Henry-Angus wanted to talk about something else, it was easier to follow his lead. Luckily, they had a big plate of shortbread ready for after dinner. But they would have to wait until another day to find out more about life in the zoo.