Wallaby’s a Winner, by Patricia Neemans

It was a hustling, bustling day at Froggly Dean Zoo.

Mr Baker, the Zookeeper had been busy all morning getting the Zoo ready for the Annual Sports Day.

Over the months, whatever the weather, the animals had been training very hard, sprinting,

throwing,

jumping,

and swinging.

Wallaby was helping Mr Baker lay out the winner’s medals. As he polished the bright shiny gold surface he dreamed that he would be a winner, wearing the medal proudly around his neck. But Wallaby hadn’t even entered any events.

Wallaby wasn’t strong, he couldn’t swim, and he couldn’t jump very high. He just wasn’t good at sports.

Mr Baker blew his whistle for the start of the first race, the 100- meter dash. Cheetah stormed home to take the first place.

Wallaby stayed behind to cheer on Tortoise, who came in last, (think he probably picked the wrong race). Wallaby rolled up the finish line neatly for the next race.

In the Aerial acrobatics Swallow dipped and looped the loop with perfection to score a perfect ten.

When Hawk got so dizzy, loop the looping he crash landed, Wallaby carefully bandaged his beak.

Wallaby moved the pole up,

and up,

and up, for Giraffe to walkover in the high jump.

Wallaby refereed his Kangaroo cousins in the boxing match,

clapped as Penguin out swam shark in the swimming race

and took pictures in the Great Tug of War, (taking great care not to get too close!).

In between events, Wallaby was busy filling up the water troughs,

pinning on numbers

and announcing the events through the loudspeaker.

Finally, it was the last event. The Round the Zoo relay race.

Wallaby handed the batons to the birds, to fly the first lap.

Mr Baker fired the gun, and with a loud BANG the birds took off at top speed.

Goose passed the baton to Hare first, closely followed by Swallow to Giraffe.

Hyena snapped his baton in half, and hawk, who again mis-timed his landing, landed on Zebra’s back still holding his baton.

Wallaby held on tightly to the finish line as Rhino and Ostrich came charging forwards. Ostrich stuck out her long neck, grabbed the line in her beak, the winner.

At the medal presentation, Wallaby hip, hip, hoorayed the winners louder than anyone else.

After all the medals were given out Mr Baker brought out a huge golden trophy. The last and most important prize goes to someone who has worked hard all day at every event and made today such a special day.

Animals of the Zoo, please give a great big Froggly Dean cheer for ‘Wallaby’, our Sportsman of the Year.

That night before Wallaby went to sleep, he gave his gleaming trophy one last polish where it read, ‘Sportsman of the Year’.

by Patricia Neemans