Meet Ling Ling

“Come on Jake,” said Midge. “Lets go see the Panda Bear. They are so cute.”

“You like it because she is the same color as you,” laughed Jake.

“She looks so cuddly don't you think?” asked Midge.

“I don't know about cuddly,” said Jake. “But it does look little like a teddy bear.”

They walked over to the Panda bear, where Booker-T was busy talking with the bear.

“Hi Booker-T,” said Midge. “What are you doing?”

“Hi Midge, Jake,” smiled Booker-T. “Meet Ling Ling. She is called a Panda bear.”

“Hi Ling Ling,” said Midge.

“Hi Midge,” greeted Ling Ling. “Do you like the little zoo here?”

“It's nice,” said Jake. “It is a holding place where the animals stay before their transfer to the big zoos. I think they check you for diseases and make sure you are healthy and ready for the big zoos. How long have you been here?”

“I think only two days,” said Ling Ling. “How long have you been here?”

“We are only visiting,” said Midge. “We don't stay here.”

“Booker-T was telling me you live in a house,” said Ling Ling. “Is it nice?”

“Where did you live before you came here Ling Ling?” asked Jake.

“I was in a small room with people taking care of me,” said Ling Ling.

“Was your mother there too?” asked Midge.

“I didn't have a mother,” said Ling Ling.

“Every one has a mother,” said Midge.

“She don't remember one,” said Booker-T. “She only remembers humans being there.”

“I remember humans holding me and feeding me,” said Ling Ling. “But I never saw a mother there.”

“I wonder what happened to her mother,” sighed Booker-T.

“Maybe she died like Snowball's mother did,” said Jake.

“Maybe,” agreed Midge.

“The humans took good care of me,” said Ling Ling. “Now they are sending me to a place to be with some other Pandas like me.”

“Do you miss the humans that took care of you?” asked Midge.

“Yes,” said Ling Ling. “Sometimes I miss them. They were always there and now I am alone.”

“That is so sad,” said Jake. “Did you make friends with anyone here after you got here?”

“No,” said Ling Ling. “They all look different than I do. I don't think they are like me.”

“They are all different,” said Midge. “But you can be friends with them anyway. You don't have to be the same to be friends.”

“You don't?” asked Ling Ling.

“No,” said Jake. “Midge and I are friends. We are both dogs but we are different kinds of dogs. And then we have Booker-T who is a cat.”

“And you are all friends?” asked Ling Ling.

“Oh yes, “said Booker-T. “We are good friends and always together playing. We have another good friend who is a bird.”

“Oh wow,” said Ling Ling. “Do you think they would like to be my friend?”

“Hey Snowball,” called Midge. “This is Ling Ling. Would you like to be her friend?”

“You want to be friends?” asked Snowball.

“I'd like that,” said Ling Ling. “I never had an animal friend before. My friends were always human.”

“You had human friends?” asked Snowball. “I had one too.”

“You don't have a mother either?” asked Ling Ling.
“I had a mother but she died when I was little,” said Snowball. “So a nice man and his little boy took care of me til I got little bigger.”

“Maybe my mother died too,” said Ling Ling. “But I don't think I had one.”

“It is okay Ling Ling,” said Midge. “Maybe some day you will find out what happened to her.”

“My owner has a book about Panda bears I think,” said Jake. “Maybe I can find something in it.”

“My mother would be in your book?” asked Ling Ling.

“I don't know,” said Jake. “I don't think so.”

“It's okay Jake,” said Ling Ling. “You don't have to look.”

“I think the book just tells where Pandas came from and what you like to eat,” said Jake. “Things like that.”

“I like to eat Bamboo,” said Ling Ling. “Sometimes I eat fruit when they give me some. I like apples.”

“Here comes a big truck outside,” said Midge. “It says something about a zoo on the outside.”

“Maybe they are coming now to take you to your new home at the big zoo,” said Jake.

“Will you come to see me at the big zoo?” asked Ling Ling.

“We can't come to the big zoo,” said Jake. “It is on the other side of town and too far for us to walk there.”

“We live close to this little zoo,” said Midge. “Our owners would not like it if we tried to walk across town.”

“Can they bring you to see me?” asked Ling Ling.

“We don't have a way to ask them to take us?” asked Jake.

“They don't speak our language,” said Midge. “We only talk with other animals. When Jake and I talk to our owners, we bark. Booker-T meows.”

“Oh,” said Ling Ling.

“You will make new friends there who are just like you,” said Jake. “I heard that the zoo is a good place.”

“It was nice meeting you,” said Ling Ling. “Am happy we could be friends while I was here.”

“Good-bye Ling Ling,” said Booker-T.

“Good-bye you guys,” smiled Ling Ling as the man loaded her into a cage and wheeled her out to the big truck.

Next, the men loaded up Snowball and then came back for the others. Jake, Midge and Booker-T stood outside and watched the truck as it pulled away from the little zoo.

“I hope Ling Ling and Snowball find good friends when they get there,” said Midge.

“I think they will,” said Jake. “Wonder what kind of animals they will being in here next time.”

“We will have to try and come here once in a while to see who is here,” said Midge. “These big animals are so cool.”

“They are,” agreed Jake. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes,” said Booker-T and Midge agreed.

The three hurried along the sidewalk to Jake's house where they laid down for a short nap.