The Secret Banana Mission

Charlie was a monkey who lived at the zoo.

He loved to have fun and try new things.

But sometimes his ideas got him into trouble.

Charlie lived with his friend Oscar.

Oscar was an orangutan.

He was older and wiser than Charlie.

Oscar liked to read books that people dropped near their home.

One morning, Charlie heard two zoo workers talking.

They were near the food storage room.

"The special bananas came today," said Sarah, the head keeper.

"They are for the baby elephants. These bananas are the best in the world!"

"Where do we keep them?" asked Tom, the other worker.

"In the storage room behind the elephant house. The door code is 1-2-3-4," said Sarah.

Charlie got very excited.

The best bananas in the world!

He had eaten the same bananas every day for three years.

He wanted to try one special banana.

Charlie ran to find Oscar.

Oscar was reading a magazine.

"Oscar! Oscar!" said Charlie.

"I have great news! There are special bananas in the storage room. We can get them!"

Oscar looked up slowly.

"Charlie, those bananas are not for us. They are for the baby elephants."

"But there are many bananas! The elephants will not miss one or two," Charlie said.

"And I heard the door code: 1-2-3-4!"

Oscar knew that look in Charlie's eyes.

When Charlie wanted an adventure, nothing could stop him.

"OK," Oscar said. "But we take only two bananas. And we must be very careful."

"Of course!" Charlie said.

Charlie had a plan.

But he needed help.

The door was high up.

Even standing on Oscar's back, Charlie could not reach it.

First, Charlie asked Gerald the giraffe to help.

Gerald lived in the African area.

He was very tall and very kind.

"Will you help us get the special bananas?" Charlie asked.

"Are they good bananas?" Gerald asked.

"The best in the world!" Charlie said.

"OK, I will help," Gerald said.

Next, Charlie asked Bella the parrot.

Bella could copy any sound.

She could sound just like the zoo workers.

"So you want me to help you take bananas?" Bella asked.

"We are not taking them. We are... trying them. For science," Charlie said.

Bella laughed. "This sounds fun. I will help!"

Last, Charlie asked Benny the raccoon.

Benny was very good at opening things.

Before he lived at the zoo, he opened garbage cans in the city.

"Can you open a door with numbers?" Charlie asked.

"That is easy," Benny said. "But what do I get?"

"The best bananas in the world!" Charlie said.

"I don't like bananas," Benny said.

"But you like adventures, right?"

Benny smiled. "Yes! I will help!"

Now Charlie had his team: Charlie the leader, Oscar the smart one, Gerald the tall one, Bella the voice copier, and Benny the door opener.

The next day, when all the zoo workers were busy, the team started their mission.

First, they had to get out of their homes.

This was easy.

Gerald stepped over his low fence.

Bella flew out when a worker opened her door.

Benny squeezed through a small hole.

Charlie and Oscar climbed through a loose panel.

Next, they had to walk through the zoo without being seen.

This was harder.

Gerald was eighteen feet tall. He could not hide anywhere!

When some school children saw him, Bella quickly flew above them.

"Children, look at the penguins!" Bella said in the teacher's voice.

"The penguins are very interesting!"

The children looked at the penguins instead of Gerald.

Charlie kept getting distracted.

When they walked past the seal pool, he wanted to stop and watch.

When they went by the gift shop, he saw toy monkeys that looked like him.

"Focus, Charlie!" Oscar whispered.

After twenty minutes, they reached the storage building.

They found the right door.

It had a small computer lock next to the handle.

"OK, Benny," Charlie whispered. "Do your magic!"

Benny walked up to the lock.

He pressed the buttons: 1-2-3-4.

Nothing happened.

He tried again: 1-2-3-4.

Still nothing.

"Are you sure about that code?" Oscar asked.

"Yes! Sarah said 1-2-3-4!" Charlie said.

Just then, they heard footsteps.

Tom the zoo worker was coming toward them!

"Hide!" Oscar whispered.

Gerald tried to hide behind a small bush.

But his long neck still stuck up high above it.

Charlie and Oscar hid behind a wheelbarrow.

Benny jumped into some leaves.

Bella flew to a tree.

Tom walked toward their door.

"Wait!" Bella called out.

She sounded exactly like Sarah.

"Tom! Come help me with the penguins! It's an emergency!"

Tom looked around. "Sarah? Where are you?"

"Behind the penguin house!" Bella called. "Hurry!"

Tom ran toward the penguins.

"That was great!" Charlie said to Bella.

"Thanks, but he will come back soon," Bella said.

"We need to open this door now!"

Benny tried the lock again.

"Charlie, are you sure about that code?"

"Yes! Sarah said the code is 1-2-3-4!"

Then Oscar hit his head.

"Charlie, what exactly did Sarah say?"

Charlie thought. "She said the door code is 1-2-3-4."

"Wait," Oscar said slowly.

"Did she say the code IS 1-2-3-4? Or did she say something else?"

Charlie thought more.

"Oh no. She said the code is the same as always. Then she said something about 1-2-3-4."

Everyone looked at Charlie.

"So we don't know the real code?" Gerald asked.

"Well... no," Charlie said quietly.

Benny sighed. "OK, I will try different numbers."

For ten minutes, Benny tried different codes.

Finally, he tried 0-0-0-0. The door opened!

But just then, Sarah and Tom came around the corner.

"I told you I heard your voice!" Tom was saying to Sarah.

"That's impossible. I was in my office," Sarah said.

Then they saw Gerald standing in front of the open door.

"Gerald?" Sarah said slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Gerald looked up.

He still had leaves in his mouth.

"Oh, hello Sarah! I was just taking a walk. For exercise."

Sarah blinked. "Gerald, did you just talk to me?"

Gerald realized his mistake.

Animals were not supposed to talk to people!

Bella quickly flew down.

"Taking a walk! For exercise!" she said, copying Gerald's voice.

She made it sound like she was just repeating sounds, like parrots do.

"Oh," Sarah said. "The parrot is just copying sounds."

But then she looked confused.

"Wait, why are there so many animals here? And why is this door open?"

One by one, all the animals came out of their hiding places.

They looked sorry and embarrassed.

"OK," Sarah said.

She was trying not to laugh.

"Can someone please tell me what is happening here?"

Charlie stepped forward.

"It was my idea," he said.

"I heard about the special bananas. I thought maybe we could try just one. We were not going to take many."

"So you got everyone to help you break into our storage room?" Tom asked.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds bad," Charlie said.

"But we call it 'The Secret Banana Mission.'"

Gerald nodded. "It was going to be very organized!"

"Organized?" Sarah asked.

She looked at the mess they had made.

"We had a plan," Benny said helpfully.

Sarah and Tom looked at each other.

Then they both started laughing.

"You know what?" Sarah said.

"I think this needs a special exception."

She went into the storage room and got some of the organic bananas.

"Next time you want to try something special, just ask us. We want you to be happy here."

The animals could not believe it.

They thought they would get in big trouble.

Instead, they were getting exactly what they wanted.

Sarah gave bananas to everyone in the team.

"These are very special, so enjoy them," she said.

Charlie took his first bite.

His eyes got very big.

It was the best banana he had ever eaten.

It was sweet and creamy and tasted like sunshine.

"This is amazing!" he said.

"Was the adventure worth it?" Oscar asked.

"Yes!" Charlie said. "But maybe next time I will ask nicely first."

"Next time?" Oscar said nervously.

Charlie smiled. "Well, I heard something about special apples coming next week..."

Oscar groaned, but he was smiling too.

Life at the zoo would be boring without Charlie's adventures.

As the animals enjoyed their special bananas, Sarah made a note to watch the monkey area more carefully.

She also made another note: order more organic fruit.

She had a feeling that Charlie's adventures were just beginning.

And Charlie, as he finished his banana and started planning his next mission, learned something important.

The best adventures were not just about getting what you wanted.

They were about the friends you made and the good times you had together.

Even if those adventures sometimes meant breaking into storage rooms and causing a little chaos at the zoo.

The Secret Banana Mission was complete.

And it was even better than Charlie had imagined.