After the zoo keepers went home, Alex called a meeting.

“Friends,” he roared, “The zoo is a nice place to live. We have comfortable beds, we can watch unlimited TV through the office window, and we get loads of visitors,”

“We also get wonderful meals,” said Helen.

“About that,” said Alex. “I’m pretty sure my dinner was Poppy the pig, who I had a great conversation with yesterday. And my breakfast was Chloe the chicken, who used to help keep the fleas off my back.”

“So what?” said Tyler. “I bet they were delicious!”

“So what?” repeated Alex. “Haven’t you ever questioned the way things are?”

“What are you, some kind of vegan?” asked Tyler.

“That’s right,” said Alex. “From this moment on, I’m the world’s first vegan lion. I’m going to go to New York and become famous and help all the other animals. But first, I have to get out of this zoo.”

Everyone worked together to help Alex escape. Helen was bouncy enough to be a springboard. Tyler bit through a fence. Ashely’s spikey back became a ladder. Egbert bulldozed through the bushes, and Grace’s neck made an excellent slide. Alex jumped, ducked, climbed, ran and slid right out of the zoo.

“Goodbye,” he called. “I’m off to New York!”

Alex padded past cats and dogs. He slunk past rabbits and hamsters, and crept past a flock of geese. It was hungry work, so he helped himself to beans and cabbages from people’s gardens. He walked and walked, but he didn’t seem to be getting any closer to New York.

Alex followed the sound of a bellowing fog horn down to the port. Shining in the light of the moon was a cargo ship named Liberty. Alex stowed away between the containers and logs, and they soon set sail. Each night when the sailors were asleep, Alex cooked for the mice, rats and Charlotte the ship cat. He made crispy tacos with green guacamole. He made oodles of noodles with slurpy sweet sauce. He made wonderful waffles with coconut whip.

“Delicious,” said Charlotte. “This is better than mice.”

“I’ll say,” said Mason.

Finally the ship arrived in New York. Alex shook his mane, strutted off the boat and marched right down Fifth Avenue. He smiled his best smile, sure the news crews would spot him any second and that he would become famous.

“Hey, you!” yelled a cab driver. “Look where you’re going!”

“Excuse me,” said Alex. “Did you notice I’m a lion?”

“Everyone comes to New York thinking they’re so special,” said the cab driver, before zooming away in a cloud of smoke.

Becoming famous wasn’t going to be easy, and Alex needed money to pay the rent. He got a job as a dish washer in a restaurant, worked his way up to becoming a kitchen hand, and eventually became the head chef. People came from far and wide to try his crispy tacos, his oodles of noodles and his wonderful waffles.

Back at the zoo, the animals were watching TV through the office window.

“Hey!” said Tyler. “That’s Alex!”

“Wow!” said Helen. “He’s a celebrity chef!”

They all looked at each other.

Sure, they had comfortable beds, TV to watch, and loads of visitors.

“But maybe there’s more to life,” said Grace.

And that night, they all escaped and stowed away on The Liberty, bound for New York.