MARCO, MASTER OF DISGUISE

Nearly everyone in my class had a pet of some sort. Lots of them had dogs, and a fair few had cats, budgies and goldfish. Max Wallace had a hamster and Adam O'Hara had a tortoise which he claimed was sixty years old, though I'm pretty sure he was exaggerating. Sam Tripp had a small lizard and a pet rabbit, which was a strange combination. But no one I knew had a grizzly bear sleeping in their garden shed, or sat beside a grizzly bear most nights watching TV.

Marco wasn't a pet, of course. He was my friend. My best friend.

Can Patrick stop his friend being sent back to the zoo? An absurd and hilarious tale of real friendship.