Panda's Adventure

• Alina Leung, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2017

CRASH! The trees shook a little as a furry lump landed on the ground. This furry lump was Panda. But Panda is no ordinary panda, he is… just a bear! Although his name is Panda, he is only named Panda because of his appearance. Like most pandas, he’s black and white, but unlike most pandas, the black areas on his fur are in random splotches. Panda had always thought that he was a normal panda, like his ‘mum’. Since Panda thought that, he had always eaten bamboo shoots even though they tasted literally disgusting to him. Well, Panda had considered not eating bamboo shoots, but he didn’t want to be different from his ‘family’. One guess was that Panda was a cross-breed between a black bear and a polar bear (no idea how they would have met) but no one really knew. Maybe his mum and dad were good at climbing, but Panda was certainly not.
“Owww… not again!” groaned Panda as he picked himself up and brushed the dust off his fur. Bam Bam, the panda who adopted Panda, said, “Not like that!! You have to use your claws to grip the trunk! There’s no point just trying to slide up the tree!” Panda sighed. The other pandas just made it look so easy! Panda decided he would master tree climbing! He practiced harder than ever, determined to reach his goal. He paid much more attention during training and got better and better. One day, Panda decided to climb the tallest tree in his homeland. He found he could climb so much better; his training had paid off! But there’s something even taller over there! What is it? Cos… t… co… Costco?
Panda went over to check it out. “What is this Costco place anyway?” said Panda. He looked up and started to climb. At the top, Panda found a window and opened it. He jumped in and saw something completely different to the forest! There were chattering people, large trolleys and shelves full of goods! A friendly staff member named Alexa found Panda sitting on the floor in awe and was about to lift him back into the teddy bears crate when Panda spoke. Alexa jumped back in fright. Then Panda and Alexa started talking, and quickly became the best of friends. “I’m starving!” Panda said. “You got any food around here?” Of course they did! Alexa gave Panda a quick tour around Costco and said that he was free to try any of the samples. Panda tried many samples and loved the food there! When Panda declared to Alexa that it was time for him to leave, Panda noticed Alexa looked a bit sad. “I’ll come back,” he said and that immediately made her more cheerful. After giving him a Gold Star card, Alexa waved him off. “That food is much nicer than bamboo!” exclaimed Panda. “Especially the salmon!” When he got home, Panda said to himself, “That was an exciting adventure for sure!”