Holes in my new trainers

Alfie to Mr Noah...

“Pack leader, why do you have four holes in your nice new trainers?”

“Why do I have four holes in my nice new trainers? Well, why don’t you and Mango, Sid and Chilli, all sit down, make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll tell you the story of how it happened.” And so they did, and Mr Noah began his story ...

“A little while ago, we, that is Mrs Noah and I, decided to go and visit some of the other animals in the jungle to see what types there are, and to see whether they would be suitable to come and live in the Ark. So off we went to a place called Gnu Zoo, a long way away.”

When Mr and Mrs Noah arrived, they decided to be very ‘health and safety conscious’ and, rather than walk around the big open bush alone, they would listen to the very clever man, who worked at Gnu Zoo, and take a ride with him, as he suggested. He was a qualified guide, so they knew that was the safe and most sensible thing to do. “Good, sensible advice,” said Mr Noah to Mrs Noah.

“Yes, I agree. Better safe than sorry!”

So they climbed into a big old jeep with several other people, also visiting Gnu Zoo, and off they drove with the knowledgeable guide to see the animals.

Their first stop was to see big ferocious lions in an enclosure, lazing around in the sunshine.

“Can we get out and go see them?” Mr Noah asked.

“Oh no,” said the knowledgeable guide. “They are very big and scary and will probably think you are edible!”

So, they moved on and then saw some big buffalo. “Can we walk with them?” asked Mr Noah.

“No, no, no,” said the very knowledgeable guide. “They would probably trample all over you!”

As they moved on, they saw some giraffe, big ones and small ones. “I’m sure we could walk with the giraffe,” said Mr Noah. “They look very friendly.”

“Definitely not,” said the guide. “They do not let people approach them at all. They do not like people.”

And so this went on. Every animal that they saw, from lions to giraffes, from antelope to ostriches (even baby ones) were too big and scary, or too frightened, for the guide to allow anyone to get out of the jeep and go see the animals up close.

Mr Noah was very disappointed at not being able to get up close with the animals (although it didn’t worry Mrs Noah very much) but he was still very pleased that the knowledgeable guide was looking after them so well at all times.

Near the end of the trip, it was time to visit the cheetahs, and it came as quite a bit of a surprise to everyone (especially Mr Noah) when the knowledgeable guide told them that they could now climb out of the jeep and go feed the cheetahs in their enclosure. They would even be allowed to stand right next to the cheetahs. This really confused Mr Noah. He really couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to walk with the fluffy little bokkies, but was allowed to go and stand next to a large, fierce cheetah as it ate its dinner. Oh well...

Mr and Mrs Noah, along with everyone else, filed into the enclosure where the cheetahs lived, and the guide shut the gate so that they (the cheetahs?) couldn’t get out. The knowledgeable guide said it was perfectly safe, so everyone walked into the cheetahs’ dinner area, and stood in a line waiting to see what would happen next. The knowledgeable guide told them that he would put a row of dead chickens in front of everyone and the big, fierce cheetahs with the huge paws and massive claws, and the gigantic colossal teeth (“Far bigger than yours, Mango!”) would come and take a bird each and run off into the bush with it.

“Are you sure this is safe?” asked Mr Noah.

“Of course,” said the knowledgeable guide. “I’ve done this hundreds of times and no-one has ever been eaten yet,” he laughed, and he proceeded to drop some dead chickens in front of everyone standing there.

Almost immediately, in prowled a cheetah, growling quietly to itself. It strolled up to a chicken, snatched it, and ran off with it. Then, another one slunk in, strong and watchful, looking for her dinner - chicken tonight! She stopped in front of Mr Noah, looked him up and down curiously, and then – pounced!

But not on to a chicken! On to Mr Noah’s smelly trainer! She grabbed his foot and sank her teeth into his trainer - and into his BIG toe! When she tried to run away with it, she realised it was attached to something, and it wasn’t a very tasty chicken after all, so she dropped it, and picked up the real chicken nearby. She sauntered off into the bush without so much as a backward glance.

“Ow,” cried Mr Noah eventually to the knowledgeable guide, and to everyone else who was standing there, who had been fixated on this sight. Would they get to see a cheetah run off and eat a human being? Would it make national news? International news?

“That’s not supposed to happen!” said the knowledgeable guide.

“Ow”, cried Mr Noah again, and proceeded to check that his toe was still attached to his foot.

“That’s never happened before!” he smiled.

“And that,” said Mr Noah to Alfie and Mango, Sid and Chilli, “is how I got those holes in my trainers.”