Leo bounced on his bed before his mom even knocked. He threw on his blue sneakers and grabbed his toy binoculars. The kitchen clock read 6:17. Zoo opens at nine.
Leo marched through the zoo gates and pointed his binoculars at every sign. The monkey house was quiet. The snake pit was still.
Then — BOOOOOO — a huge sound shook the ground. Leo dropped his binoculars and looked around. What was that?
BOOOOOO again. Leo ran past the sleeping lions and the splashing penguins. He squeezed behind a big bush and peeked out.
He saw a gray mountain with floppy ears and a long trunk. The elephant opened one eye and looked right at Leo.
Leo held out his hand. The elephant stretched its trunk forward and tapped his palm — gentle, like a feather. BOOO — it trumpeted softly.
Leo giggled so hard he fell onto his bottom. The elephant waved its trunk and sprayed a tiny rainbow from the fountain nearby.
Leo walked back to the gate with his binoculars around his neck. The elephant trumpeted once more — not loud, just soft.
Leo waved. The elephant waved its trunk. BOOO echoed across the zoo, and Leo walked home smiling.
BOOO echoed across the sleeping zoo. Leo walked down the sidewalk, humming the loudest sound he had ever heard.
He thought about the gray mountain with floppy ears and a long trunk. He thought about the rainbow.
Tomorrow he would go back. Tomorrow there would be more surprises. The boy folded his binoculars and went inside.
