After hearing about how much fun their human friends had at the zoo, Zeemore, Zelly, Zippee, and Zooga decided to check it out for themselves. Zelly packed plenty of snacks—Strawberry Crisp Bars, Strawberry Applesauce, and some Mixed Fruit Cups—while Zeemore made sure the Applesaucer was ready for takeoff. They touched down in the arctic exhibit, finding a large habitat filled with water, ice, and what a plaque nearby called penguins. Zelly read over the plaque, which was filled with information about these “penguins,” and relayed what she learned to her Zee Zee friends. She told them about how penguins lived at the South Pole and were birds but couldn’t fly. The plaque said they liked hunting fish, swimming, and sliding on ice really fast. The Zee Zees loved the penguins. The penguins couldn’t seem to hear the Zee Zees past the glass separating them, but the Zee Zees were determined to become friends with the penguins anyway. “As the Official Liaison Between Interplanetary Peoples I think we should exchange culture with the penguin, much like we do with our human friends,” Zooga said. “I agree!” said Zelly, who was excited to go swimming with a penguin. “Alright,” agreed Zeemore. “Well then, let’s load a penguin onto the Applesaucer, whichever is their Official Liaison, and show them our culture. Then we’ll bring them back and ask them to show us how they live.” Zooga and Zelly hopped into the penguin exhibit to determine which of the penguins was the Official Liaison while Zeemore and Zippee went to tell the zookeeper that they were borrowing a penguin. It was difficult as the Zee Zees and penguins didn’t seem to share a language, but eventually, the penguins seemed to understand the Zee Zees were there to share and learn with them, as one waddled toward the Applesaucer. “The Liaison!” Zooga cried excitedly and began ushering the penguin into the spaceship. “Wait, stop!” the zookeeper said, running over with Zeemore and Zippee. “Patsy isn’t the penguin’s Official Liaison, she’s just a very curious penguin. You can’t take animals from the zoo,” the zookeeper explained. “This is their home, it’s where all their family is and where they’re taken care of. You don’t know how to take care of penguins, and we can’t explain to the penguins what is happening, so taking them from their home just scares them.” “Oh no!” Zooga said. “We didn’t mean to scare Patsy, we just wanted to be her friend!” “You can still be Patsy’s friend,” the zookeeper said. “You can visit her as often as you want. Just stay out of the cages from now on, and leave the animals where they are, okay?” The Zee Zees all agreed, and from then on made frequent trips to the zoo to visit their penguin friend Patsy, always staying on the right side of the glass.
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