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Stories and Sketches

​​The first story is a lead into The Zoo at Katmandu and some key characters.
​Meet Molly the collie, Daniel the spaniel, Brian the lion, Rita the cheetah, Sue the gnu and some others.
​​Noah the boa finds a way out of the reptile house and escapes into the trees. Sarah the carer, Molly the collie and Daniel the spaniel set out to find him.
Noah is well disguised in the branches and some other surprising places. It's not until nightfall that Molly and Daniel manage to find him.
​​During a warm summer, the zoo is plagued by ants - all sorts of ants; red ones, green ones, wood ants, bull ants - they are all there and drive everyone crazy. The ant powder only makes them sneeze and they're back again.
All seems lost until Snory McClaurie returns from a trip with a poorly anteater. They call her Anita and take of her to get her back on her feet.
At first she is shy - especially with Brian but it's not long before the animals see she has a special talent - she likes eating ants - all sorts and lots of them.
Ringo the dingo arrives from Australia with Neville the Tasmanian devil.
He soon realises his enclosure is there as a guide to where he should be but often he isn't.
His early relationship with Molly the collie is......'chilly' but when he rescues the lorises from a burning building and collapses outside with a broken leg while still carrying them, Molly finds she has a terrible soft spot for this wild Australian dog.

Ringo goes on a 'walk about' and disappears. The zoo has to find another dingo to take his place​​.

When Ringo returns he can't believe there is an imposter in his house.

Molly scolds him sharply and then finds out where he has been. He's made friends with the Mayor of Katmandu who gives the zoo more land and a special new house for Ringo. How can she be cross now? She can't so she bites him.

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​​Some like it hot. But some like it cold. Ryan the sea lion and Neil the seal share the same house. They both like swimming and diving but Ryan prefers summertime while Neil likes to swim outside when it's cold and icy.
Neil goes out for a winter morning swim and finds he is being followed. Terrified there is a monster chasing his tail, he rushes back and asks Ryan to have a look. Ryan thinks the icy wind has frozen Neil's brain and ventures out only to find the same thing.
He dashes back with something attached to his left-back flipper - a baby polar bear.
Neil wants to keep it while Ryan thinks this is a stupid idea. It's a polar bear after all.
Ryan gives in and they look after her and bring her up.
Eventually even the zoo decides it is too dangerous to have a large polar bear living with a seal and sea lion and move her back to her own house.
Enola-Clare pines and finds a way back. Again she is returned to her own house but when the wolves come down from the mountains to steal food, they have no idea of what or who is waiting for them.
​​It's the little things that count and don't ever think that mice are silly and don't know how to drive because they're not and they can.
​​Wouldn't it be nice if you could have a lion like a big pussy-cat. Well, you can and here he is - Yiyan (Ieuan) the Welsh mountain lion.
This story is about how Yiyan arrives at Kathmandu and his friendship with Brian the lion, Lena the hyena and Ringo the dingo. Unfortunately, Ringo gets them into some 'hot water' over some sausages but when Yiyan helps chase the wolves away, Anika decides a big, strong companion is what she needs for her evening rounds.

​​Rita the cheetah and Peter the Cheetah are brother and sister. They share a house but Rita often travels with Snory McClaurie and helps him track animals. This left Peter on his own which made him miserable so Sarah and Anika decide to find him a new friend. With help from the mayor of Katmandu, they find an incredibly rare Indian cheetah. Peter falls head over heals for her but when Rita returns, Ringo challenges all three to a race. He digs a big hole to let them out and takes them to an old race track where all his friends from town are waiting. They all get off to a good start and Peter and Gita show some early promise but decide they are more interested in each other. Rita on the other hand gets into her stride and coming out of the last corner finds them sitting down in the middle of the track. Its too late and there is a big crash. 'No bones broken' but they are in a mess. Ringo sneaks them back to the zoo in time for a special inspection the next day.

There are some horrified looks when the cheetah specialists are presented with three battered cheetahs but things turn out better than expected.

​There are two American bald eagles; Archibald and Theobald and they work at an airport on 'pest control' - clearing flocks of pigeons and geese for planes to land and take off safely.
Mrs Carew is an old lady who lives on the edge of Katmandu and is a 'friend' of the zoo.
One day two huge bald eagles drop in to steal her lunch and she catches one in a big pair of bloomers.
Archie is furious especially when he is bundled into a Land-Rover and taken to the zoo.
While in captivity, Theo visits him and they hatch a plan. When Archie is taken for flying lessons, he can fly into a big tree and the two brothers swap. That way they both get well fed and have free flying time.
All goes well until one day, after a 'free period' Archie returns very hungry. Gaynor the trainer is running a 'falconry' display when Archie swoops in and raids the visitors for food. The crowd disappears leaving just one - Mrs Carew. She has realised there are two bald eagles and the game is up. She firmly calls Archie and amazingly he responds and comes down. She understands that one eagle is easy and likes to be trained and the other is contrary and quick tempered. She takes Archie home and looks after him in her house.
A wonderful friendship develops between her and Archie and he settles down at last.
​​Snory McClaurie is trapped by snow in the mountains with Rita the cheetah.​ They need food and supplies fast and the best way is by dropping them from a plane. The obvious choice is Mrs Carew who has a small biplane that can fly slowly enough to do the 'drop'. She is also a gifted pilot.
She takes Archie with her in the front seat. After some low passes in her biplane, she finds the drop too difficult and Archie takes over. He picks up the supplies in his huge talons and flies them down to Snory McClaurie and Rita. Archie drops food, warm clothes, storm tents and a stove and flies back, alongside with Mrs Carew and her biplane - Lady H.
Mrs Carew finds tears in her eyes when she and Archie land side by side at her aerodrome, cheered by Anika, Sarah and her ground crew.
​​'We need an elephant.' Snory McClaurie proclaims one day. He is left to the task of finding one and travels to Africa. Things don't run smoothly and the wild animals steal most of his kit. A big Indian elephant, released back into the wild, takes pity on him and returns his tent and most of his clothes. After several weeks, Snory returns with his elephant to find Mrs Carew has been given an elephant by an uncle in Rangoon and brought her back already.
​Affectionately known as Mrs Oliphant, Mrs Oliphant is overjoyed when another Indian elephant arrives. He is very large and friendly and they decide to marry each other and become Mr and Mrs Oliphant.
Mrs Carew is caught by a snow storm while flying in the mountains and the fuel in her engine freezes. She crashes
Lady H  on the side of a mountain and is pulled out by Archibald-eagle.​
Now injured, she has no way of getting out before dark and the wolves are coming out.
Archie swoops down to the zoo to find Ringo the dingo and get his help. Ringo can see he needs to get back to Mrs Carew with an animal that can stand the cold, can keep Mrs Carew warm through the night and frighten the wolves away. That means the most dangerous animal in the whole zoo - Enola-Clare the polar bear.
Getting her out isn't easy - especially if you look, smell and sound like a wolf but Ringo manages it and Mrs Carew is rescued.
​All of Brian's friends are worried when he starts falling over for no apparent reason. He is taken to the zoo clinic for tests but can find no answers. Some of his friends realise his fringe has grown past his eyes so Ringo decides something has to be done. He borrows some scissors from the clinic and gets the lorises; Boris, Horace, Morris, Norris and Doris out to do the cutting.
With Brian still sleepy from another test, the lorises get to work. As they cut his fringe, they argue that one side is shorter than the other and start cutting the longer side. This happens again and again and they give Brian a 'short back and sides'.​
When he wakes up, he can feel something is different.... and a lion's mane is very important.
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