Kanga the kangaroo and Gerry the giraffe were the best of friends. They lived in the same zoo, side by side in two big enclosures. Every morning, Kanga would bounce up to the fence and say, “Morning, Gerry!” And Gerry would bend his long neck down and say, “Top of the morning to you, Kanga!”

They’d play guessing games, share stories about the zoo visitors, and sometimes toss leaves or pebbles between their pens just for fun.

One evening, as the zookeeper was locking up, he got a phone call. In his rush to answer it, he forgot something very important: he didn’t lock Kanga or Gerry’s enclosures! And off he went, whistling, not even noticing the gates gently swinging open in the breeze.

As the sky turned dark and the stars twinkled above, Kanga looked around and said, “Gerry, is your gate open?”

Gerry blinked. “So is yours!”

Kanga gave a big, bouncy hop and was out. Boing! Boing! Boing! Gerry carefully tiptoed out, his hooves going clop clop clop on the pathway.

They looked at each other. “Let’s explore the zoo!” they cheered together.

First, they visited the penguin pool. Kanga tried to hop like a penguin, waddle waddle, splat! “You’re not built for waddling,” laughed Gerry.

Then they crept into the souvenir shop. Gerry accidentally knocked over a stand of postcards with his neck, clatter! Kanga tried on a safari hat. “How do I look?” “Like a tour guide with too much bounce!” said Gerry.

They giggled and explored more. They saw the monkeys sleeping in a huddle, the flamingos standing on one leg, and the snakes curled up in warm corners.

But then they came to a gate marked “Lions: Keep Out.” Kanga paused. “Maybe we shouldn’t…” But Gerry peeked through the gate. “They’re all sleeping. What could go wrong?”

So they tiptoed in.

The lion enclosure was quiet. Too quiet. The moonlight cast long shadows on the rocks.

Suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes opened. Then another. And another.

“Um, Gerry?” whispered Kanga.

One lion stood up. Then two more.

RRRRRRAWRRR! A deep growl echoed through the enclosure. The lions were awake, and they weren’t in the mood for visitors.

“Run!” shouted Gerry.

Boing boing boing! Kanga bounced like never before. Clip clop clip clop! Gerry galloped, his long legs flying.

The lions gave chase! Their paws thudded against the ground, thump thump thump, as their golden eyes locked onto Kanga and Gerry.

Kanga veered left. Gerry ducked right. The lions split up to follow both of them.

Kanga bounced up onto a boulder and called out, “Over here, Gerry!” Gerry dashed toward the boulder and leaned his long neck down. Kanga grabbed hold, and with a swoosh, Gerry lifted her up just as a lion pounced, swipe, missing her by inches.

Together, they clambered up onto a rock ledge too high for the lions to reach. They were panting, eyes wide.

“That was close,” said Gerry. “Too close,” said Kanga. “Let’s not ever go into the lion zone again.” “Agreed,” nodded Gerry.

Eventually, the lions grew bored and wandered off. When the coast was clear, Kanga and Gerry climbed down and quietly tiptoed back to their enclosures.

The next morning, the zookeeper scratched his head when he found paw prints, postcards on the ground, and a safari hat in the giraffe pen. “Strange…” he muttered. But luckily, he never guessed what really happened.

Back in their enclosures, Kanga and Gerry looked at each other and smiled.

“Best adventure ever,” said Kanga. “But next time,” added Gerry, “let’s stay far, far away from the lions.”

And from that day on, whenever they heard a lion growl, they would whisper, “Lesson learned!” and share a secret giggle.