White with Black stripes

How did the Zebra get its stripes?

It was a cold day at the New York City Zoo, the monkeys were huddled together in the corner of their cage, the lions were sound asleep, not having to worry about getting wet, and in the middle of the zoo, stood a beautiful, but short white horse, getting soaked from standing in the rain.

 

“Stupid New York City, raining all winter” The horse grumbled.

 

            The horse didn’t sleep all night long. Every time he was just about to drift off, thunder would clap and lightning would light up the sky. Finally, when he saw the sun rising up from the horizon, he gave up on sleep and started munching on hay that was covering the ground of his roofless stable

 

“Hey Zeb” Another horse said.

“What?” Zeb asked.

“You get any sleep last night?” The horse asked.

 

Zeb glared at the other horse with cold eyes. All day people asked Zeb how he slept, since he was the only animal without a roof over his head. Finally, when it came time for one of the workers to take him to the doctor appointment he had that day, he kicked the Zoo employee in the gut and escaped. He ran and ran, until he couldn’t run anymore.

 

“Where am I?” Zeb thought.

 

Zeb looked around; this didn’t look like New York anymore. This place had long grass, and a pool of water right beneath him. Trees like what were in the monkey’s cage surrounded the place, and other horses like him ran and played together.

 

“Is this a Zoo for white horses?” Zeb asked himself. 

 

Zeb drank some water before walking up to one of many white horses to ask about this place.

 

“Excuse me, but where am I?” Zeb asked.

“You’re in a field with horses” The white horse laughed, “What’s it look like?”

“This isn’t a Zoo?” Zeb asked.

“Zoo? Of course not, were wild horses, we won’t be kept in any Zoo!” The horse cried.

“I must have ran farther than I thought” Zeb said.

“Names Race” The horse said “And you?”

“Zeb, I’m from the New York City Zoo” Zeb said.

 

            Race stared at Zeb in amazement, like there was nothing like him. They talked and talked, until they finally noticed that all the other horses around them were no longer running or playing, the were just standing there, there heads occasionally moving a bit.

 

“Looks like we talked all day” Race laughed.

           

Race and Zeb found a nice warm spot where they relaxed and finally fell asleep. The next time Zeb opened his eyes, he saw the horses around him eating or drinking. He joined in, wanting, no needing to fit in with the others like him.

 

“Morning Zeb” Race smiled.

“Morning Race” Zeb nodded.

 

Zeb and Race ate, drank then as they were talking to some of the other horses, they saw two humans drive a big truck to a near by water pond. The horses watched as the men dumped gallon after gallon of a mysterious, oozy, black substance into the pond.

 

“What do you think that black stuff is?” Zeb asked.

“Maybe it’s more water” Race said.

“No, waters clear, this stuff is dark” Zeb said.

           

Race and Zeb were the only two horses brave enough to go near the water when the men left in their truck. As they came closer to the water, they noticed that even with the dark oozy substance in the water, the water kept its murky, clear look.

 

“Should we taste it?” Race asked

“What if it’s poisonous?” Zeb asked

 

Zeb sniffed the water, and then hovered his hoof over the water. He thought about walking in the water, but then what if the water pulls him down?

 

“What are you thinking?” Race asked

 

Before Race could say anything, Zeb walked into the water, making sure his mouth was tightly shut, that way no water could get in.  When he got out of the water, he felt like the same horse, but by the look on Races face, he knew he certainly looked differently.

 

“What’s wrong?” Zeb asked

“Your color, you have stripes!” Race cried “You’re black and white!”

“Black and white?” Zeb cried “No way!”

 

            All Race could do was nod his head, he could not believe it. Zeb didn’t sulk at his now different appearance, now he was different from the others. Now that he was different, he insisted on being called Zebra, a combination of Zeb and Race. Days passed .Animals who wanted to look like Zebra dove into the murky water, not afraid, and as time passed, the stripes never wore off, and everyone eventually looked the same as Zebra.  New horses were born had the same stripes that Zebra had, so whatever the stripes were made of, they were perminate, never coming off.

 

“Zebra, do you know the way back to the Zoo?” Race asked one day.

“I could find it, why?” Zebra asked

“Well, we look awfully funny, and I’m sure people would want to see this,” Race said

 

 Zebra thought it over, then agreed, so on the next morning, after eating some grass and drinking some water, they started on there journey back to the New York City Zoo. When people saw them pass, they pointed and were amazed, but when they arrived at the Zoo, the keeper took them both. Instead of “Zeb the horse” on Zebra stable, it now read ‘‘Zebra and Race, the Zebras”

 

“So people pay a fee to come look at animals?” Race asked

“Yep, and the money they get is used to feed all the animals here” Zebra said.

“Wow” Race said. “Why aren’t all the animals here?”

“They don’t want all of them, then there wouldn’t be any wild animals left, and what would the world be without wild animals?” Zebra asked.

 

In the time that passed, research was done on the Zebras, and because they were so popular, the Zoo keepers hired some hunters to go out and catch more Zebras.

 

“Race, you think they know where the others are?” Zebra asked

“If they look long enough I’m sure they’ll find them” Race shrugged.

 

Zebra nodded in agreement, going back to eating his oats. Now that they were a popular sighting in the Zoo, the Zookeeper gave him a brand new stable, one with a roof, much nicer than the Lions cage. Zebras name was painted on the door, along with Races, who was in the stable next door.

 

“You think we’ll ever get to go back in the wild?” Race asked.

“We never know, usually if the Zoo goes out of business they let all the animals go” Zebra said.

 

Up until the day Zebra died, he was the most popular sighting at the Zoo, and he and Race were almost like brothers, even though they looked the same, they acted different, but deep down, they loved each other deeply.

Race went on with life, even after Zebra died. Some hunters went out in the wild and managed to find a mate for Race, then after they brought her back to the Zoo, where after a year or two, Race and his mate ‘Anna’ had a stable full of baby Zebras, who now stole the show from their mother and father.

 

Nobody ever found out how Zebras became what they are today, and scientists have given up on trying. As time went on, the famous question became more popular every year. Is a Zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes? Well, nobody has to ask anymore because we all know the answer.

Author's Note

Not the kind of story I like to write, but it was an English assignment