Monkey Mayhem by Bindi Irwin

The entire Irwin household was quiet. When you live at a zoo, it’s rare to have everything so still. Three humans, two German shepherds and a horse were sleeping soundly. Bindi was dreaming about a cheeky lemur who was holding a bunch ofgrapes and throwing them at her and Robert. The dream was cut short when she was woken by the phone ringing.
    Bindi slipped on a dressing-gown over her pyjamas and opened her bedroom door. Robert poked his head out of his bedroom at the same time. He was rubbing his eyes and looking grumpy. He’d been right in the middle of a dream where he was wrestling a muttaburrasaurus and he was winning. This phone call had better be important!
    They could hear their mum, Terri, talking in the kitchen. ‘Is there anything I can do to help? … Oh. O-kay. And when would you need us?’
    Robert and Bindi entered the room.
    â€˜Just a moment, Susan, the kids have just walked in.’ Terri took the phone away from her ear and spoke to the children. ‘How do you feel about taking an overseas trip, guys?’
    Bindi and Robert were always up for an adventure. ‘Sure, Mum. Where to?’ asked Bindi.
    Terri gave a mysterious smile and returned to her phone call. ‘Well, the kids are keen, Susan. So if you send through an email with all the info we’ll need, the Irwins will be there … as quick as a dancing sifaka.’
    Robert and Bindi looked at eachother quizzically. As quick as a dancing sifaka? Was that really a saying?
    â€˜Okay, Susan, take care,’ continued Terri. ‘And give my love to Alex.’ She hung up.
    â€˜What’s a sifaka?’ asked Robert.
    Terri raised an eyebrow. ‘Perhaps I should have said “As fast as a hunting fossa”?’
    There was a moment’s silence before Bindi squealed. ‘I know where we’re go-ing. I know where we’re go-ing,’ she cried, jumping up and down with excitement.
    Robert looked from his sister to his mother. ‘Fossa? I love the fossa. But they come from MADAGASCAR!’
    A moment later, the two kids were singing, ‘I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it,’ as Terri herded them back to their bedrooms.
    â€˜Move it back to sleep quickly, kids. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day!’

The next day was a whirlwind of activity. Flights were booked, bags were packed, plans were changed, passports were found, and Terri explained why, at such short notice, they were all going to Madagascar.
    â€˜Susan and Alex are old friends ofmine from the US. They’ve recently started up Kily Ecolodge, near one of Madagascar’s rainforests, and they’re expecting a large tour group in four days’ time. It’s their first big group, and it’s really important that the guests are taken care of, because their feedback will lead to more visitors. Unfortunately, Susan’s mum has fallen ill, so my friends have to return to the US immediately.’
    Bindi guessed what was coming next. ‘And they need someone to take care of the place while they’re away?’
    Terri nodded. ‘Exactly.’
    â€˜Are we going to have to make the guests’ beds and cook thembreakfast?’ Robert asked with a slight frown. He didn’t like the sound of that. He’d been thinking about investigating the bright red tomato frogs and looking for chameleons.
    Terri smiled. ‘No, Robert, there will be staff to help out. But they do want someone to make sure everything runs smoothly with the guests.’
    Bindi nodded. ‘We can definitely do that, Mum. No worries at all.’

    The Irwins flew across seven time zones and the Indian Ocean,stopping on the nearby island of Mauritius before finally landing in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. Bindi had been doing some reading about the country on the long flight, and she’d found out that the Malagasy, the Madagascan people, had very long words for many of their towns