Penguin Pandemonium - Christmas Crackers. Жанна Уиллис

He was ever so grumpy.”

      Paulie could be quite fierce at times – especially first thing in the morning; he wasn’t an early bird.

      “I expect he just got out of the wrong side of the nest, Waldo,” said Rory. “Come on, I’ll help you look for your pogo stick. I bet the chicks have hidden it as a prank.”

      But they hadn’t. Rory and Waldo had only got as far as the frozen pool when Ursie waved at them frantically from the tree in the bear paddock.

      “Yoo hoo! There’s been a kerfuffle! Muriel’s gone over the top!”

      Rory sighed. The bears were terrible stirrers. They were always spreading rumours, and nine times out of ten, they weren’t true.

      “Muriel’s gone over the top of what?”

      “The wall!” said Ursie. “I’m not even lying.”

      Rory wasn’t so sure. “How on earth could she get over the wall on her own?”

      Rory had been over the top a few times himself. It wasn’t too difficult if he formed a pyramid with the others, but it was far too high for a fairy penguin to climb on her own.

      “But that’s just it – she wasn’t on her own. She was with Hatty and Brenda,” said Ursie, climbing down from the tree. “Back me up, Orson!”

      Orson lumbered over to the barrier and leant over.

      “They all bounced over together,” he said, “on a pogo stick. Boing, boing … wheee!”

      Waldo clapped his flippers over his beak. “Boing, boing, wheee?”

      “Actually, it was boing, boing, boing, wheee,” added Ursie. “There were three boings and a whee. Orson can’t count, which explains his bad dancing.”

      As far as Rory was concerned, it didn’t matter how many boings there were. More to the point, where had Muriel and the girls gone – and why?

      “Blue wasn’t with them, was she?” he asked.

      “I’m here!” called Blue, skidding across the snow towards him. “Come quickly, Rory! Muriel’s done something really silly. We have to get her back before the zoo opens.”

      She grabbed his flipper and they hurried over to the wall of the enclosure. The pogo stick lay in the snow where it had fallen.

      “Where’s Muriel gone?” panted Rory.

      Blue ran over to the viewing grille and pointed towards the grotto. “Look – there she is!”

      Rory’s beak fell open. “I don’t believe it!”

      Muriel was sitting in Santa’s sleigh with Brenda and Hatty, opening the presents in the sack.

      “Nope, this one’s a toy soldier … don’t want that. Ooh, mittens!”

      “Muriel!” yelled Blue. “What are you doing?”

      Muriel whisked round and waved at her. “I’m doing Christmas! I’ve got all sorts of lovely presents: mittens, muffs—Oh, here’s something for you, Bloop. It’s bubble bath. Believe me, you need it.”

      “Muriel, you have to get out of there now!” said Rory. “The zoo’s about to open. If you get caught, goodness knows what the keeper will do with you, let alone Paulie!”

      Muriel took no notice, tore off another piece of wrapping paper and held up the contents. “Christmas underpants! I might give these to Warren. Any requests, Rory?”

      “Yes!” he wailed. “Get back in the penguin enclosure. You’ll get Hatty and Brenda into big trouble.”

      But Muriel didn’t seem to care. “Go jingle some bells, Rory,” she said. “Tis the season to be jolly. Sing up, girls!”

      “Fa la la la la …” hummed Hatty.

      “… la la la la,” sang Brenda.

      They were having such fun Rory couldn’t help feeling a bit left out. For all he knew, there might be some sparkly wheels in Santa’s sack. Surely it wouldn’t hurt just to nip over the wall for a few minutes and have a rummage? But if he said it outright, he would look greedy, so he took Blue to one side and made up a good excuse.

      “We have to go and get the fairy penguins back,” he said. “I should hate them to get into trouble. Especially at Christmas.”

      But, as usual, Blue saw straight through him. “Dear Rory,” she grinned. “You’re always thinking of others. And while you’re saving Muriel, you can see if there’s a present you might like.”

      “That never even crossed my mind,” he said innocently.

      Blue smiled a knowing smile.

      “OK, I admit it,” said Rory, “I would like to open something. Wouldn’t you?”

      Blue knew she’d been rumbled. It would be lovely to undo the shiny ribbons and see what was inside those beautifully wrapped parcels.

      “I’ll fetch the pogo stick,” she said.

      There was a flat rock near the wall. The snow had already been brushed away by certain fairy flippers to create a good surface to bounce off, so Rory picked up the pogo stick and held it steady.

      “On you get, Blue. I’ll put my feet either side of yours, then, on the count of three, we bounce.”

      They held on to the pole.

      “We’ll do six boings, let go of the stick and land on the wall,” he said, putting his flippers round her. “One, two, three … Bounce harder, Blue!” urged Rory. “That’s it – four, five, six … Now let go!”

      She almost missed the wall and, if it hadn’t been for Rory, she might have fallen back into the enclosure, but she was so light, he was able to pull her up.