A two-hour drive from Buckleberry there is a small town called Pontypie. The town was made famous for the Pontypie Zoo. People would go to the zoo during the week and especially at weekends to see the pandas. It was always a fun day out. There was an assortment of animals to see, rides to go on, hotdogs, chips, candy floss to buy and of course coffee for the adults. Unfortunately, the pandas were on loan from a zoo in China. The time had come for them to go home. This became big news for Pontypie. People flocked to the zoo to see the pandas for the last time. Television crews filmed their movement from the zoo to the closest airport, and everyone waved goodbye.

As time went on, fewer people visited the zoo. It lost what people thought were the stars. The animals became sad as they had no visitors. The workers became sad as they had lost the reason to come to work. The whole zoo looked sad. Nobody knew what to do. The owners of the zoo thought it was time to close the zoo for good. The animals did not know what would happen to them. It all became a huge conundrum.

Astara moved from one part of the enclosure to another. Each day she became sadder. She thought to herself, I am fed-up. The zookeeper had placed a fish in the water for her to eat. She looked at what looked like a dirty old rag. Astara thought, I am fed-up with this place. I am fed-up with the chilly water and dirty windows. I am fed-up with the smelly, tasteless fish. I am fed-up being by myself. In the distance, she could hear the lions howling as they had lost their roar, she could hear the monkeys chattering but it was all out of time, she could hear the elephants stomping and it made the ground shudder. What was Astara to do?

Astara woke up the next morning determined to change her life. She walked over to the end of the enclosure where there was a rocky wall. Astara set her mind to climb the wall. She was not sure on what to do when she got to the top or what would be at the top. Astara thought at least it would be a start. She let out grunts and groans. It was a real struggle. Once she reached the top, she let out a big sigh. What now she thought?

At the top of the wall there was a small ledge to walk along. A wire fence functioned as a barrier. Astara could see through the fence and some of the other animals. When they noticed Astara, they all looked surprised and shocked. They had thought that the “Arctic Enclosure” had closed completely. The other animals were so pleased that at least one animal was left, but it was bad that Astara was alone. Astara continued to walk on the ledge and noticed that part of the wire fence had been broken. The zookeepers had not bothered to fix it. 

Astara took a huge breath and decided to climb through the fence. She waddled along the path of the zoo passing many animal enclosures. Astara had never been this far from her enclosure and so was unsure what she would find. She could smell some familiar smells as she passed by bins. The bins had old hotdogs and chips in them. Astara walked by and then saw the huge entry gate. She stood and looked back at the zoo and said goodbye and hello to adventure.

Astara was now in unfamiliar territory. The sky was turning dark and it started to rain. She was not sure if she should return to the enclosure but then stopped and thought and said to herself, “Keep going!” She walked along a black path, but white circles shone in her eyes. Loud noises came towards her and large objects rushed by. She did not know at the time that she was walking on a road, and the traffic of cars and trucks were passing in both directions. She saw bright lights flashing ahead and wondered what it was. Astara had walked into Pontypie town.

As she walked along the road, she could now see lots of people like the ones who did come to the zoo at one time or another. This lifted Astara’s spirits. She could smell all sorts of smells; many she had not experienced before. She could hear all sorts of sounds. The town was buzzing. There were many windows with things behind them. She thought this must be their enclosures as people looked in and people looked out. Astara thought it was strange. She never imagined that the visitors would live like this.

Feeling tired, Astara found a bench to sit on. She watched the people come and go and just wondered about this new experience. Then a large, white, fluffy Maremma Sheepdog approached Astara. “Hello,” he said. Astara was taken aback. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere safe and with your kind? You are a long way from home. Let me take you to your family.”

Astara was not sure what to make of the dog. He seemed friendly enough, but what did he really want? Astara reluctantly replied, “Hello, my name is Astara and I am from Pontypie Zoo. I do not want to go back, and I have no family and I am fed-up.” She thought that was clear for the dog to understand. The dog nodded his head, and they both sat in silence.

The dog was not used to not talking or protecting and thought that the penguin was his family. He thought he had better explain and then both would feel better. “Hello,” he said again. “I am sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Abruzzo, I am Italian. I worked on the Middle Island Project protecting and being friends with your kind. My owner unfortunately fell ill and had to move away, so now I am by myself. Like you, I am fed-up too.” Astara listened carefully. She could not help feeling sorry for the dog. She wondered what the two of them would do.

Astara said, “I have a clever idea. Why don’t we form the Fed-Up Club? That way we can look after one another and be fed-up together?” Abruzzo thought it was a good idea. They both looked at one another and smiled even though they were fed-up! Abruzzo suggested that they find some food to celebrate. He told Astara to wait and he would be back. Abruzzo had a good idea what penguins liked to eat as he had seen and helped feed them many times before. He sniffed the air and could detect a smell of fish. He returned to Astara and told her he thought he knew where food was. They both wandered together down the street and Abruzzo led the way with his nose.

Astara and Abruzzo arrived at a fish and chip shop. Many people were inside and many people were queuing outside. One of the cooks came out and pointed to Abruzzo and said, “Round the back boy!” Abruzzo and Astara went to the back of the shop. They also joined a queue! There was an old man looking dishevelled. His face looked like Santa as he had a big white beard and wild white hair. There was also a bird that had a broken wing. They all waited patiently for the cook.