On the go with Zibo

Zibo is a little zebra. You know what a zebra looks like, don’t you?
Right, it is a white horse with black stripes, or is it a black horse with white stripes?

Who cares? Today Zibo explores the world. Neighing happily, he steps through the green fields.
Animals understand people when they talk.
A dog knows what you want if you ask it to give a paw.
A horse that pulls the cart knows when it has to stop.
But human beings do not know precisely what the cow wants, when it moos.
When a cat meows, you may think that it wants to eat, but what did it actually ask?
Maybe it wants a piece of the chocolate that you are eating?
Who knows?
Let’s go back to Zibo, who walks through the fields.
He meets a cow and says: “Hello, animal.”
The cow looks up and answers: “Good day to you too.”
“Who are you and what is your name?”
“I am a cow and my name is Brownie.”
“Are you useful?”
“Surely, I give milk to my calves and to the children. How are you called?”
“I am Zibo, say Brownie, do you also give milk to the grownups?”
“I do, Zibo, there are millions of cows all over the world that give countless quarts of milk a day to all the people and animals.”
“That is great, bye Brownie”, says Zibo and he moves on.

He spots a small animal that creeps out of a flower. It has wings and a yellow abdomen with black stripes, just like him.
“Hi”, says Zibo and puts his nose near the flower.
“Buzz, buzz”, answers the animal.
“Who are you and what is your name?” asks Zibo.
“I am a bee and my name is Sting. Who do you think you are?”
“I am Zibo, the zebra, but are you an animal?”
The bee jumps on Zibo’s nose and says: “Of course I am an animal, but they call me an insect.”
“Well, that’s weird”, says Zibo: “what are you doing and who gave you that funny name?”
“They call me Sting, because bees have stings. I can hurt you with my sting but if I can work quietly, I seldom use it. That is different from wasps. They are dangerous. They often get angry and hurt you. Their sting is very painful.”
“Good to know. What is that work you do?”
“Bees extract nectar from the flowers and turn it into honey. That is very healthy for the tall and the small”, says the bee and buzzes away.
I have never tasted honey, thinks Zibo, but if it is that healthy, I will surely try it.

A bit further, Zibo meets a sheep. “Hello, animal”, says Zibo.
“Bèèè, hello”, says the sheep.
What do you think Zibo asks next?
Of course: “Who are you and what is your name?”
“I am a sheep and my name is Curl.”
“What a beautiful name”, says Zibo: “I am Zibo, are you any useful?”
“I certainly am, I give wool to the people. They knit sweaters that keep them nicely warm.”
“Sounds good, but I think sweaters are too hot.”
“Are you not cold, Zibo?”
“Why should I?”
“Running around like that in your pyjamas!” Curl laughs.
Zibo thinks deeply and then he laughs loudly and says: “Of course, Curl, you noticed that well, you thick curly ball.”
When both animals recover from laughing hard, Zibo returns home satisfied. What a lovely day this was, he thinks to himself.