Free Hide! The Tiger's Mouth is Open Wide! by Adam Frost Page B

spiders? Or frogs?’ Tom continued.
    ‘I’m not sure,’ said Sophie.
    ‘And some animals have massive teeth, don’t they?’ said Tom. ‘It would take him ages to look at an elephant’s tusks. And what about a walrus’s. Or a warthog’s!’
    ‘Yeah, and the zoo’s got five warthogs,’ said Sophie, ‘and they’ve each got two pairs of tusks. That’s . . . twenty warthog tusks!’
    When they reached the zoo gates, Dr Sharp was waiting for them. Next to him was a friendly-looking young woman with spiky purple hair and bright red lipstick.
    ‘This is Violet,’ said Dr Sharp. ‘She’s my assistant.’
     

     
    ‘Hi, Tom! Hi, Sophie!’ Violet greeted them enthusiastically. ‘Dr Sharp has told me that you’re London Zoo experts.’
    ‘I don’t know about that . . .’ Sophie said.
    ‘That’s right!’ exclaimed Tom. ‘Ask us anything you like!’
    ‘OK,’ Violet said with a smile. ‘Where can I get a massive chocolate croissant for my breakfast?’
    Tom and Sophie smiled. ‘This way!’ Tom said, and led the way to the Oasis cafe.
     
    After Violet had bought her croissant, Dr Sharp took an electronic notebook out of a black case that he was holding. He glanced at it quickly and said, ‘First up is Colin the camel. He’s a Bactrian camel, so he’ll have two humps. Bactrians originally come from the Gobi Desert in east Asia, but where does he live now?’
    ‘Over here!’ said Tom.
    ‘You’ve got to be careful with Colin,’ said Sophie, as they walked across the picnic lawn. ‘He’s got a bit of a temper.’
    ‘Make sure he doesn’t bite you,’ said Tom. ‘His teeth are like daggers.’
    ‘Well, his canine teeth will be like daggers,’ said Violet. ‘They’re these teeth here. The ones like Dracula’s fangs.’
    She pointed to the two pointy teeth in her own mouth.
    ‘But as for the rest of his teeth,’ Violet went on, ‘they won’t be like daggers at all. They’ll be pretty flat.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ Tom asked.
    ‘Well, camels are herbivores,’ said Violet. ‘That means they only eat plants. Which tends to involve lots of chewing. Camels grind down grass and leaves and vegetables for hours and hours every day. For that, they need lots of rounded flat teeth.’
    ‘So it’s only carnivores that need sharp teeth?’ said Sophie.
    ‘As a rule, yes.’ said Violet. ‘If you’re a meat-eater, you need strong, pointed teeth to kill your prey and tear the flesh off their bodies.’
    Tom smiled. ‘Cool.’
    ‘Of course, there are also omnivores,’ said Dr Sharp.
    ‘What do they eat? Omelettes?’ Tom asked.
    ‘They eat everything!’ Violet said. ‘We’re omnivores. That’s why we have sharp teeth at the front and flat teeth at the back.’
    ‘It means we can gnaw a chicken drumstick and chew on a salad,’ said Dr Sharp.
    They had arrived at the camels’ enclosure. Mr and Mrs Nightingale were waiting for them.
    ‘Roger, Violet, good to see you,’ said Mrs Nightingale.
    ‘So what’s up with Colin?’ Dr Sharp asked.
    ‘Nothing really. He just needs a check-up,’ said Mr Nightingale.
    ‘OK, let’s have a look at him,’ said Dr Sharp.
    They all went inside the enclosure and Colin ambled over. Mr Nightingale gave the command ‘Kush!’ and Colin lowered himself down on to the floor. His legs completely vanished underneath his large brown shaggy body.
    Then Mr Nightingale put his arm around Colin’s neck and started to whisper to him. ‘OK, we’re just going to look inside your mouth. No need to panic.’
    Dr Sharp gently lifted up Colin’s lips. Colin shied away, but Mr Nightingale held his neck more tightly and stopped him rearing back.
    ‘A camel’s mouth and teeth are perfectly adapted to their native environment,’ Violet said to Tom and Sophie, as Dr Sharp poked around in Colin’s mouth.
     

     
    ‘You mean life in the desert?’ Sophie asked.
    ‘Exactly,’ said Violet. ‘He’s got a split lip, which lets him grip on to tough desert