Hey everyone! I'm PrimroseRaspberry, and welcome to my next story! Years ago, I received an opportunity to read a short children's book called "Just This Once," written by Joy Cowley. It was about a little girl named Liz who owns a hippopotamus as a pet and the mishaps that happen when she convinces her parents to let it go with them on vacation. That book was so funny that I still remember it even now, and eventually I ended up deciding to write a fanfic about how exactly Liz first got the hippo. The Christmas carol "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" by Gayla Peevey gave me some inspiration, and then later I decided to include the Wonder Pets in it as well. They're just so sweet and funny, and in the end, including them in the story actually made the plot make more sense too.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story. Here it is…

"Alright everyone. Pack up your bags, it's almost time to go home."

The kids in the classroom scurried around, collecting their things. One girl, however, stayed where she was, waiting for the painting she'd just made to dry. This girl had light-coloured skin, light brown hair in 2 little pigtails at the top of her head, a white long-sleeve shirt with bright blue stripes, turquoise overalls, and white sneakers. She had painted a picture of a hippopotamus, which hadn't turned out perfect exactly, but anyone could tell what animal it was. Especially her.

The teacher came toward the girl with the painting. "Liz, it's time to get ready to go home. It's December 23rd. The last day of school before the holiday break, remember?"

Instantly Liz began to sob loudly; something she, being someone so young and sensitive, always did when she didn't get her way. As she let out some howls as well, the rest of the kids stopped what they were doing and turned around to look at her. Whenever Liz didn't get her way, it was like watching an entertaining show according to her classmates' point of view. This, however, didn't last long, because their teacher was always very careful with how she treated Liz at times like these. She was a kind woman who loved being nice to her students, but at the same time didn't want to spoil them.

"Liz," the teacher said gently, bending down toward her, "I know you're upset, but…can you please use your words?"

Liz stopped weeping, and she said, "My painting's not dry yet. I can't leave until it's dry!"

"I'm sure it won't be a big deal if—"

"It is a big deal! If I take my painting outside while it's still wet, the snowflakes falling down will make it look messy!"

The teacher sighed. "This painting must be very important to you."

"It is important to me," said Liz. "I'm trying to tell Mom and Dad that for Christmas this year, I want a hippopotamus. Not a stuffed toy or a doll, but a real one! A really big one! A pet that I can play with, ride on, and bring on vacation!"

At that moment, a man with short black hair and a woman with neck-length curly blonde hair came toward them. They were Liz's parents, and they'd come in just in time to hear their daughter say she wanted a hippopotamus. "No, Liz," said her father. "You can't get a real live hippopotamus for Christmas."

"WAAAAAAH!" howled Liz. Her parents sighed with relief at the fact that they'd made the right decision. If she got what she wanted, then the next time Liz didn't get her way, the hippo would probably howl too. A little girl and a hippopotamus sobbing and howling at the same time would have been so loud, the parents would have lost their ability to say no to their daughter!

"I'm sorry," said Liz's mom, "but think of how much responsibility it would take to own a hippopotamus. It's way too much for people like us to handle."

Liz burst into tears again, so her parents apologized to the teacher before escorting the sobbing girl out of the classroom. A few minutes later, the parents, aunts, uncles, or grandparents of the rest of the kids came in, and the remaining students packed up their things and headed home too. When the kids were gone, the teacher went to her desk to grade some of their work; including Liz's hippopotamus painting, which she'd forgotten to bring home with her in all that howling drama.

After she was finished grading everyone's work, the teacher stood up and put on her coat, gloves, boots, and winter hat. It was time for her to leave too, but since this was the last day before holiday break, she had one extra task to do: bring the classroom pets home with her. Someone would need to feed them and take care of them during holiday break, and it might as well be her. So, one by one, she went to pick up the pets' cages. However, as she went toward the one in the middle, which belonged to Linny the guinea pig, the teacher stepped on a toy car with rollable wheels, almost slipping off her feet. Groaning, she picked up the toy car and placed it back in the toy box where it belonged. She knew her students were still learning to pick up after themselves, but somehow that particular toy car always ended up right underneath Linny's cage. Sometimes it was as if her own pet went for rides in it behind her back!

After examining the floor closely to make sure there weren't any other discarded toys nearby (which there weren't), the teacher picked up Linny's cage, then the one belonging to Ming-Ming the duckling, and then the one belonging to Tuck the turtle. Carefully, she loaded each cage into the back seat of her car, which she then hopped into after locking up the preschool. Next, the teacher strapped herself in, started the car, and headed home to see her husband, son, and daughter.

The ride home was a very smooth and ordinary one, at least to the teacher and anyone she drove past. However, if she hadn't put on headphones to listen to music, and if she hadn't kept the windows up, she and passersby would have noticed that the three classroom pets in the back seat were talking to each other. Not just in typical animal languages that humans didn't understand either—the pets were actually talking to each other, in English. Their ability to do this was a secret only known to animals within the city; the only humans that knew these animals could talk were the ones who lived in Wonderland and Oz. That's right; these three classroom pets had a secret life that their owner didn't know about. They were the Wonder Pets, a team of animal rescuers who frequently snuck out of the classroom after school hours to help other species around the world; sometimes they even had to save each other! There was so much about the classroom they lived in that the teacher and kids didn't know about. However, things like Linny's secret cage exit and the diorama where Ming-Ming discovered magical dancing shoes aren't the main attractions of this story. Right now, we will focus on the Wonder Pets, who were at the time in the teacher's car's back seat, having a conversation.

"I hope we can come visit our families again this year," Tuck said, smiling.

"Actually, Tuck," replied Linny, "this year our families are going to come visit us! I talked to Ollie, and he said he was going to show them the way to the teacher's house once they get to the classroom."

"Ollie's coming too?" Ming-Ming asked. When Linny said yes, the duckling frowned. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said.

Linny and Tuck weren't sure what to say. While they enjoyed having their bunny friend Ollie around, Ming-Ming had always been a bit more cautious and dismissive around him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Ollie could sometimes be a little impulsive and rude when it came to helping those in need; but then again, didn't she herself have some of those moments on occasion? She was a little more rebellious than her best friends, after all…

Today, however, Ming-Ming seemed a bit more unhappy than usual about spending time with Ollie. There was something else on her mind too; her friends could tell. So, hoping to steer the conversation in that direction, Tuck said, "I wonder how the kids from the classroom are going to celebrate Christmas."

"I alweady know how Liz is gonna celebwate," stated Ming-Ming. "With a hippopotamus!"

Linny sighed. "I'm not sure she's going to get one for Christmas, Ming-Ming. Her mom and dad both said no."

"But it made Liz so sad!" Ming-Ming insisted. "If her pawents won't give her a hippopotamus, then I guess we'll have to do it."

Tuck looked a little nervous. "I don't think that's a good idea, Ming-Ming. How would we even get a hippopotamus inside her house? They're too big to fit through doors!"

"Welax," said Ming-Ming, smiling confidently. "He can just stay in their backyard. Then we can build a big big house, just for him!"

"But what if Liz's parents find out? Wouldn't they try to take the hippopotamus away?"

"Not if Liz starts cwying and howling, they won't!"

Tuck was about to bring up something else that could go wrong, but Linny intervened. "Ming-Ming, even if Liz's mom and dad said yes, finding a hippopotamus that would want to live with them could be hard too. Hippos all live in the wild, with their families. Where would we find one that doesn't?" And with that, Linny turned her attention to a celery stick.

As the silence that followed prompted Tuck to open a colouring book he'd hidden in his cage, Ming-Ming was about to find something to do too, when she heard the teacher singing. A new Christmas carol had just started playing through her headphones, and since it was ironic timing because of her conversation with Liz earlier, the teacher couldn't help laughing and singing along. "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, the kind I saw this summer at the zoo. There's lots of room for him, in our two car garage! I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage!"

The zoo! Of course! A plan began to form in Ming-Ming's mind. The kind of plan that only someone as rebellious and adventurous as her would have the determination to put into action.

It was Christmas Eve night. All was peaceful and quiet—everyone was asleep, dreaming beautiful dreams and looking forward to tomorrow morning. Santa Claus was flying around town now, delivering presents to all the nice citizens who deserved them. Sadly, there was one present that wasn't on his sleigh tonight: a real live hippopotamus. This was made clear as he finished delivering presents to the house where the Wonder Pets' classroom's teacher lived, mounted his sleigh, and rode off into the night. As he flew away in his sleigh, someone ducked away from the window of the house he'd just exited. That's right, not everyone in town was asleep. One particular child was still awake, and she'd managed to get a perfect glimpse of his sleigh's contents through the living room window. But that child wasn't a human child; in fact, it was Ming-Ming.

As she fluttered away from the window, Ming-Ming took one last look around the living room. Ollie, Linny, and Tuck were sound asleep, and so were all of their families, along with the teacher's family dog whose name was unpronounceable. She'd told her and her teammates' relatives about her hopes of Liz getting the present she wanted, and they hadn't exactly shared her opinion. The only one she hadn't told was Ollie, mainly because she still didn't trust him. If he knew what she was about to do tonight, he would have tagged along for sure because of his recklessness, but Ming-Ming didn't want to have to work with him on this. Having him tag along when she and her teammates were on a rescue mission could be overwhelming enough, but having him tag along when she was going on a mission by herself? There was no way she was ever going to let that happen.

Using a remote control car the teacher was planning to give her son for Christmas, Ming-Ming snuck out of the house through the dog door and headed for the zoo. Liz had been so sad yesterday, when her mom and dad told her that she couldn't have a pet hippo. But what was wrong with having a hippopotamus as a pet? Ming-Ming couldn't think of any problems with that; all she knew was that one of the classroom students was very sad, and only a real live pet hippopotamus could cheer her up. Thanks to the teacher's Christmas carol-singing, this duckling knew exactly where to find one.

Ming-Ming eventually arrived at the zoo without drawing any human attention to herself. Since the gates were closed and locked, she had to park the remote control car next to the gate and fly over the stone wall next to it in order to enter the place. After making it in, she landed softly on the ground feet-first and went toward the map of the zoo that happened to be standing near her. Luckily, she'd only have to take one straight path to get to the hippo exhibit.

Eventually arriving at the hippo exhibit, Ming-Ming crept over and peered through the bars of the cage there. She could see four hippos napping inside of it: two adult males, one adult female, and one little boy hippo. One of the men, a big dark-coloured hippo, was lying at a corner of the cage for some reason though, while the other three, all gray hippos, napped together, huddled in a warm, comforting huddle. Those three were a family, which meant the dark-coloured hippo would be the one to leave the zoo and go with Liz.

Ming-Ming started to unlock the cage, when she stopped, suddenly realizing that she had no way of doing so. Only a key could unlock the cage, but where could she find one? Then her gaze fell upon the human security guard napping in an open little house near the hippo exhibit, mainly the keyring that had just tumbled to the floor, about an inch away from the guard's foot. Instantly the duckling smiled, and without making a sound, she fluttered over and managed to take the keyring without waking the guard. She then returned to the cage and unlocked the door, causing all four hippos to wake up.

"You're fwee, mister hippopotamus!" Ming-Ming said triumphantly. She had to whisper though, so the still-asleep guard wouldn't wake up as well.

"Sorry," said the big male gray hippo, "but this is my home. I'd rather stay here with my family."

"Not you," whispered Ming-Ming, "the other mister hippopotamus!"

The dark-coloured hippo sat up, a big smile spreading across his face. "Really? You really mean that?" When Ming-Ming nodded, he happily crept out of the cage. "Thank you! I've been really lonely in here, since I don't have a family like he does. Every time the humans come here to look at us, I watch all those kids with parents and brothers and sisters, and I hope that one day, I'll have a family of my own."

"Well, today you'll be getting your wish," Ming-Ming said, quietly closing the cage door and locking it.

The next morning, Linny was the first one awake. So she was also the first to notice all the Christmas presents that were now under the tree; or at least, she thought she was the first (Ming-Ming had been, thanks to her late night adventure).

Instantly, Linny smiled with excitement. She turned so she could announce the great news to the animals who were still sleeping: her grandma Ginny, Tuck and his cousin Buck, Ming-Ming and her Aunt Eleanora, Ollie, and the teacher's dog...only to discover Ming-Ming wasn't there. Her glee then made way for confusion, which soon turned into worry as she looked all around the house and couldn't find her friend anywhere.

After looking in every room and every hiding place, Linny returned to the living room and was about to wake everyone else up—this time to warn them about Ming-Ming's sudden disappearance—when something burst into the living room, startling the sleeping animals and waking them all up instead. Linny turned to find it was Ming-Ming, who had apparently gone for a ride on the teacher's son's remote control car present. She must have been outside, because the car was covered in snowflakes and a trail of snow was left on the floor as she drove toward the couch. "Oh," she said as she parked the car in front of the couch, "good morning evewyone! Mewwy Chwistmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Ming-Ming," replied Linny, smiling. Then her smile disappeared. "Where were you?"

She didn't have to answer that question. While Linny asked it, Ollie accidentally rolled over onto another remote control, causing the living room TV to turn on. It was on the news channel, and hearing the reporter's worried tone of voice, all the animals quickly turned to the screen.

"This just in," the reporter was saying. "In the north area of town, a little girl received a very unusual Christmas present: a real live hippopotamus!"

The screen then showed a video of that girl and her parents with a hippopotamus. The parents were terrified and backed into a corner, but the girl—Liz, Tuck realized—was happily skipping around the equally-happy hippo, saying, "Yes! YES! I got a hippopotamus! I got a hippopotamus! See, Mom? See, Dad? I told you Santa Claus would get me one!"

"Hey," said Ming-Ming in frustration, "I was the one who got you that hippopotamus!" Then Linny and Tuck gasped in surprise, and she realized too late that she'd just exposed her secret mission to not just them, but also her aunt, Ollie, and the rest of the animals in the living room.

"So that's where you went last night," said Tuck. He smiled. "How did you find Liz's hippopotamus?"

In answer to his question, the reporter reappeared on the TV screen with another announcement. "And, quite coincidentally, there's another unusual event that happened last night. Apparently someone broke into the municipal zoo and stole Muddy, one of the zoo's beloved hippopotamuses, from his enclosure. Strangely, the other hippos were untouched and still in their cages by the time the guard realized what had happened."

"I only drifted off for about, like what, maybe a few minutes," said the zoo's guard, when the screen cut to an interview he was having with another reporter. "And when I woke up, my keyring was on the floor, Muddy was gone, and there were small prints leading from my station to the hippo cage. I think they were duckling prints, believe it or not."

The screen cut back to the first reporter as she said, "While all DNA tests confirm that it was a duckling who stole the hippo, the chances of that actually being what happened couldn't be more impossible. A more likely theory is that the thief, or thieves, were the parents of the girl who received the hippopotamus: Christopher and Veronica Tippington."

The teacher came into the living room with her husband and kids just in time to hear that last announcement. While her son and daughter were more focused on their Christmas presents than the news, the teacher was worried. "Oh dear," her husband mumbled, "looks like one of your students and her parents are in big trouble."

"I'm going to see if I can save Liz's parents from being arrested by the police," said the teacher. "You stay here with the kids, the pets, and their families and friends."

"No, we both have to stay here," said her husband. "Our parents are going to be here soon and besides. If we intervene, it'll just be more overwhelming for her."

As all this happened, Linny led Tuck and Ming-Ming into the dining room, where they hid inside a cabinet together. That way, they'd be able to have a conversation without the humans figuring out they could speak their language.

"Ming-Ming," said Linny, "did you free Muddy and give him to Liz?"

"Alwight, I did it," admitted Ming-Ming. "But I just didn't wanna see Liz so sad on Chwistmas! So I went to the zoo and got her a hippopotamus."

"But Muddy belongs to the zoo! And now everyone thinks her mom and dad were the ones who took him, so the police are going to take them away from Liz!" worried Tuck.

"We have to save them," declared Linny. "But first we need to make a plan."

Suddenly the cabinet door opened, revealing Ollie standing behind it. "Hey," he said, "if you're going to save Liz's parents from the police and find a way to keep Liz and Muddy together, I wanna come too!"

"Ollie, Muddy belongs in the zoo," said Linny. "He can't stay with Liz."

"He has to stay with her!" Ming-Ming exclaimed. "When I fweed him, he said he was always lonely in the zoo, even with 3 more hippos there with him! He's always wanted a family that loves him, and now he has one. We can't let anyone take him away fwom Liz!"

Hearing this information, Linny's eyes widened. She was surprised to hear that, but mainly, she felt bad for Muddy now that she knew how he'd felt in the zoo. Tuck had adopted these feelings as well, though his sensitive side made it a bit more obvious to his companions. Ollie, on the other hand, made an awkward excuse and walked away from the trio. He talked tough on rescue missions, but whenever it came to emotional situations like this, he wasn't exactly as confident as it had always seemed at first.

"That's why I chose Muddy to go live with Liz," Ming-Ming continued, breaking the silence that had then come over them. "The other thwee hippos were happy in the zoo, but he was not."

Tuck turned to Linny and asked her what they should do. "There has to be a way Liz can stay with her parents and Muddy."

"There is," said a voice nearby...and no, it wasn't Ollie's voice.

"Huh?" all three Wonder Pets said in unison.

"Come out of the cabinet."

They came out of the cabinet, and once they were out, its door was pushed closed again, revealing the teacher's dog. "How did you know we were in there?" Tuck asked him.

"Dogs can smell anything," explained the dog. "It helps them find out where people, other animals, and items are. It makes playing hide-and-seek with my owner's kids a lot easier when I'm doing the seeking part." He and the trio chuckled, and then he added, "Anyway, I picked up your scent and followed it, and then I heard what you were talking about. I think I can help, but first I'll have to show you something upstairs."

"Okay," said Linny, "but first we'll need someone to distract the teacher's kids so they won't hear us."

"Your bunny friend's already doing that. He kind of figured you were going to do something out of the ordinary sooner or later."

The Wonder Pets peeked into the living room. Sure enough, they could see Ollie riding around on a toy fire truck, doing all kinds of funny paw signals and making the kids along with the other animals laugh. As he rode past the Wonder Pets, Ollie saw them and winked, causing Linny to smile and wink back. Then, when the teacher's kids weren't looking, the Wonder Pets got on the dog's back, and he took them for a ride up a flight of stairs and onto the second floor of the house. There, the dog led them into an office, which he said belonged to the teacher. "She comes in here every evening after dinner to go through papers. One of those papers is the reason why I'm part of her family."

"Which one?" asked Ming-Ming.

The dog reached under a desk and pulled a paper out of a large pile with his paw, showing it to the trio. The paper read:

ADOPTION CONFIRMATION

I hereby agree to adopt this animal from the following animal residence. I also accept the legal terms and conditions, and agree to feed, play with, and take care of my new pet, and make him feel welcome and loved under any circumstances.

Pet name: McAntidisestablishmentarianism Studentlove

Pet residence: Nova Scotia Animal Shelter

Owner signature 1: Monica Studentlove

Owner signature 2: Stewart Studentlove

"That's it!" Linny exclaimed. "We just have to find another animal adoption paper, so Liz's family can adopt Muddy!"

"Then it's a good thing my owner's considering adopting a cat for New Year's Day," said the dog, using his paw to slide another paper toward them. It was exactly like the first adoption sheet, except no one had signed it yet. "Now all we need to do is find a way to get to Liz's house all the way from here."

Linny smiled. "I think I know who can help us."

"Who?" asked Tuck and Ming-Ming in unison.

"I'm telling you, it's not our fault the hippopotamus is here!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Tippington. You and your husband are under arrest for animal-napping."

Liz rushed in front of her parents. "Please," she begged, "don't take Mom and Dad away!"

"Miss, step aside," said one of the police officers.

"No! I won't!" And then Liz started sobbing and howling. Muddy the hippo, who had instantly found the true family love he'd been hoping for during his time with that girl, felt bad for her and also began sobbing and howling. This, of course, made a lot of noise, and soon Liz's parents and the police all had their hands over their ears.

"SEE," Liz's father hollered above the noise, "THIS IS EXACTLY WHY MY WIFE AND I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE ONES TO GET HER THAT ANIMAL! IT'S SO LOUD, I CAN'T STAND THE NOISE!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" yelled one of the officers, not hearing him above Liz and Muddy's howling.

"I SAID WE'RE INNOCENT! FOR AN OBVIOUS REASON!" yelled Liz's father, but it was no use. The police just couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, through all the commotion, the Tippingtons and the police could just make out a sound coming from outside the house: crash! Liz and Muddy stopped howling, and they along with Liz's parents and the police turned around to find a red car had crashed into a tree across the street. None of its passengers were hurt, but the car itself was a different story.

"Step out of the vehicle, sir," one of the officers said to the car's driver.

The driver, a blonde man with long lime green-streaked hair stepped out of his car, holding his hands up. In his right hand, he was holding two pieces of paper. "I can explain," he said, using his free hand to unzip his pocket and take out his wallet. "I'm a veterinarian, you'll find my degree and stuff in here. I specialize in understanding animals' sentiments, and while I was on my way to see my sister for Christmas, I found these four animals out on her doorstep. They're apparently highly trained, because the duck was drawing this comic. Check out how colourful it is!"

Two of the officers stepped outside the house and toward the man. While one of the officers examined his wallet and found his degree, which was definitely not fake, the other officer examined the comic. Perhaps it wasn't exactly perfect when it came to the illustrations, but the cop had quite an easy time understanding who was who and what was happening in the story. From the part about Liz getting emotional during class, to the point where Ming-Ming freed Muddy (showing why she did it through thought bubbles and animal sign language), to the point where Liz's parents were accused of stealing Muddy. Once he was finished reading the comic, the officer locked eyes with the duckling sitting in the back of the car, with her three animal friends. Somehow, by looking into those eyes of hers, he could at once see that Liz Tippington's parents were no thieves, and the apparently intelligent and artistic duckling really was the one responsible for Muddy's disappearance from the zoo. She'd only wanted to give him the loving home he'd apparently wanted.

Exchanging glances, each of the officers nodded. Maybe it seemed weird, but the comic was evidence. It explained why the zoo's security guard had discovered duckling prints leading to the hippo exhibit, and it explained why Liz's parents were continuously denying their involvement in the "hippo abduction." They were truly innocent.

Without a word, the officer who had examined the vet's wallet took the second piece of paper he was holding and was surprised to see it was an animal adoption paper. Whoa; just how smart were these animals? Apparently more than anyone would ever know, seeing as they were not only able to deliver the true explanation as to what happened last night, but also a solution that would make Muddy truly happy without breaking the law.

The two officers gave the vet his wallet and degree, then returned to the house and rejoined the other three cops. They told Liz's parents about what just happened, and that they would be free to go if they signed the adoption agreement. "I know this whole thing seems weird, but if our police dogs are smart enough to solve cases in the least ways we human cops expect, then those animals over there…well, whoever owns them sure knows how to train and educate them."

"But having a hippopotamus as a pet is a big responsibility," said Liz's mom. "Where do we even start after filling out this paper?"

"Easy," said Liz. "There's a Christmas song about someone wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas, just like me! Maybe we can listen to it so we can learn how to take care of our new pet."

Her parents looked hesitant. "Please?" said Liz, for once not letting her begging escalate into howls and sobs. Muddy also looked at Liz's parents, not saying anything out loud, but gaining a pleading look in his eyes.

"Alright," said Liz's father, "just this once."

As Liz's parents each signed the adoption agreement, the Wonder Pets watched in satisfaction. However, Tuck and Ming-Ming were still confused about something. "How did you know the veterinarian would help us, Linny?" Tuck asked.

Linny smiled. "Remember the day I got sick and you two had to save the day yourselves? Well, while you were gone, he came into the classroom and gave me a checkup. And while he was taking care of me…he found out we could talk."

"He did?" Tuck and Ming-Ming exclaimed in unison. Then Ming-Ming added, "But I thought humans werwen't supposed to know that!"

"He saw you weren't in your cages anymore," explained Linny. "He was going to call the police so they would look for you. So I told him everything and asked him to promise not to tell anyone we were superheroes."

The Wonder Pets turned back toward the vet, who gave them a secret wink as the Tippingtons spoke with the police, their backs to him. "Looks like he kept his promise," noted Tuck.

The teacher's dog smiled. "You did a very good deed for that hippopotamus," he told the trio.

"No, we did a good deed," said Linny. "We never would have been able to help Muddy if you hadn't shown us those adoption papers."

The dog chuckled. "My pleasure, Wonder Pets."

There was a moment of peaceful silence for a while, and then the police officers began heading back to their cars. "Alright, there you go," one of them said to the Tippingtons. "You now officially own a hippopotamus."

As the vet returned to his car and dialed the number of a mechanic, the pets watched as Liz's parents gazed at Muddy. At first they looked uncertain, but when Muddy went over and gently nuzzled their arms, their uncertainty made way for pure happiness. Liz noticed this and started jumping up and down in excitement, which made her parents laugh. "You know, I think this could be a fun experience," said Liz's mom. The Tippingtons all chuckled, and then they went inside, closing the door behind them.

The vet placed his phone in his pocket and waited until the police cars drove away. Then he sat next to the Wonder Pets and their dog friend, smiling. "You guys are really something, you know that?"

Linny winked at him, and then all five of them shared a laugh as they celebrated a deed well done. Muddy now had a loving home, Mr. and Mrs. Tippington had been saved from being arrested, and Liz now had the pet hippopotamus she'd been hoping for. Mission accomplished.

Well, I hope you all liked it. :) Feel free to express your thoughts about the story through the reviews, and also feel free to check out my other stories if you'd like. See you around!