Jordan Llamana and the Very Stressful Day

Jordan Llamana was stressed. On his walk to his job as the county zoo keeper, his assistant called to report a missing rhinoceros.

Any missing animal would be a problem, but a rhinoceros was a BIG problem. They seem beautiful, and gentle in their pen, but they can be fast and scary on the loose. After all—their horn looks very similar to an attached sword.

Jordan called the TV helicopter team.

“Please,” he begged, “I need you up in the air right away to help us find Trixie.”

“Trixie the rhino is missing? Yikes!” said the pilot.

“Lock down the school. Put out an alert. And keep your cell phone handy,” he urged.

Jordan made the calls.

Soon there were sirens blaring down the street.

A reporter appeared at the main intersection with a cameraman filming her for the news.

A fire engine with a long ladder tore around the corner.

Jordan didn’t understand what was happening. How was all of this chaos going to find Trixie?

So Jordan decided to think like a Rhino. Where would there be a giant puddle?

Jordan followed his hunch, and pulled his foldable unicycle out of his suit pocket. He zipped over speed bumps, swung around a light pole, and ducked under a clothesline.

Soon, he was at the local gardens. And in the middle of the flowers, there was a beautiful pond. And in the middle of the pond there was a fountain….

…and under the fountain was a very happy rhino. Actually it was Trixie the rhinoceros… from the zoo. Phew!

Jordan called the fire-chief.

“Sir, I’ve found Trixie. I think we can use your ladder truck. Meet me at the gardens.”

Over the next two hours, the town emergency services went into action. Getting Trixie back to the zoo involved the fire truck, a hoist, a dump truck, a giant net, a police escort with 36 police cars, road flares, traffic cones, coverage on the local news, and the mayor using his bullhorn.

When Jordan Llamana finally got to his office at the zoo several hours later, he put down his briefcase, and collapsed into a chair by the window.  And then he noticed someone looking back at him. It was Trixie, looking content in her now triple-locked enclosure, around her original well-maintained pond.

And although he couldn’t prove it for sure, Jordan was fairly certain that she was smiling. Perhaps all she’d needed was a little adventure.

The end.