The Smell That Reunites
Rodalpho ran through the aisles of the zoo looking for his son, when suddenly he bumped into a security guard. Rodalpho giggled nervously at the guard and high tailed it around him and headed down the south way aisle as he pasted by two cells on the right side. The first cell held a wary, shabby, old lion who was sleeping and the other held some tiger cubs, one of which who saw the white panther pass by.
"You guys see that?" called the tiger to his siblings. "A white panther just passed by…"
Manny's ears picked up at the sound: white panther and he raised his head in awe from his former slum position. "You said panther?"
Mickey the tiger cub that had seen the panther passed by looked on at Manny. "Yeah he was all white, with striking good looks."
Manny cheered and rose up happily. "That's my dad! Only one panther with ivory shining fur and dashing good looks could have brought me into this world."
One of the girl tiger looked at him from afar. "So, you're really human after all?"
Manny looked and turned around proudly. "Yeah what'd you think I was?"
The same tiger answered back a little sarcastic. "A little nuts maybe?"
The mother tiger scolded the young cub unhappily. "Nikisa!"
The tiger looked at her mother. "What? He's strange and that odor doesn't help him either."
Manny got insulted. "That's not me! That's- (Sniff, sniff) Bear poop…"
Manny sniffed the air around the cage and brought himself to the right side where the scent got stronger.
Manny sniffed more as the scent grew closer to them. "You guys smell that?"
Nikisa looked sarcastic. "Only the scent of you being silly."
The mother tiger growled her kin and she backed off giggling nervously. The mother tiger turned to Manny and encouraged him. "Go on Manny. Tell us what you smell?"
Manny sniffed harder and call out. "I smell…Puma…Grandpappi!"
Manny noticed his Grandpappi and Frida walk around the corner of the last cell that was positioned near him and called out to them. "Guys, over here!"
Frida and Grandpappi picked up their glance over to the sounded words and saw Manny. Overwhelmed with joy they trotted over to him and Frida got on her hind legs nuzzled Manny on the face.