Lost in the Zoo: A Children's Short Story

My inner urge to write will always have me creating and re-creating, whether or not I am ever published anywhere else but on this personal blog.

The following is based upon a prompt to write a story that a 5th-grade reader could comprehend. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Children's Book:

Lost in the Zoo

Have you ever been lost? I was!

Being lost can be scary but it can also be lots of fun. I was excited to go to the Zoo with my Dad and older sister. We had gotten up pretty early, dressed as fast as we could, and hurried downstairs to where my Dad had breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast waiting for us. My Dad made the best breakfasts. We ate, and then we were off to the Zoo. All I could think about was seeing the elephants. My mom had just read me a book about elephants, and I thought they were the best.

My Dad parked the car, and we headed inside. It was amazing! We walked along looking for all the animals in their homes; we saw Tigers and a Lion sleeping on a rock. We saw all different kinds of birds and giraffes that looked like they were hugging each other. My sister spotted a sign pointing to where the monkeys were, and we headed there along with many other families who wanted to see the monkeys. That's when I lost my sister and my Dad.

I felt like I was going to be sick because I was so afraid that I wouldn't find them again. I kept walking and walking and still never saw them. Suddenly, the Zoo wasn't much fun, and I started to cry. A policeman saw me crying and asked me where my family was. And I told him I couldn't find my Dad and my sister, and all the while, I just kept crying. The policeman wiped my eyes with a tissue and told me he would help me find them. He held my hand, and we walked together. He was such a nice policeman and he asked me about all the animals I had seen and wanted to know my favorite. I told him about the book my mom read to me and that elephants were my favorite. He laughed and said they were his, too. He stopped and asked me what my favorite flavor of ice cream was, and I said, "Chocolate, of course." Then he sat me on a bench next to a man with a cart and bought me a chocolate ice cream cone. As I ate my ice cream, we kept walking, and then I saw the elephants. So did the policeman because that's where we headed. He pointed out the mommy elephant and her baby. They were so cute, just like in my book. The baby was following the mommy around and was making baby elephant noises.

Just then, I heard my name, and the policeman turned me around. I saw my Dad and my sister hurrying through all the people. When my Dad reached us, I called him, and he cried out that he was so happy to find me and bent down to hug me. The policeman looked at my Dad and said, "We knew you'd show up near the elephants because they're your daughter's favorite animal." My Dad shook the policeman's hand and thanked him a million times, and then we walked off waving to the policeman, who was waving back.

It was the best day of all!