Looking around, she realized her favorite bat was missing and cried.

Zara hurried outside, hoping to find it.

She looked among the trees and under the bushes, but it was not there.

Feeling even more worried, Zara decided to ask her friends for help.

She went to her friend, the monkey, who was chewing a banana and asked if he had seen her bat.

The monkey replied, 'I have not seen your bat, Zara.'

Zara thanked the monkey and hurried off to ask more friends.

Next, Zara came across a group of her buddies, the birds.

She asked them the same question, 'Have you seen my bat?'

The birds replied in a chorus, 'We haven't seen your bat, Zara.'

Feeling even muddier, she thanked them and moved on.

Zara then asked the same question to the wildcat, who was prying a tins can.

The wildcat denied seeing her bat and suggested she check near the river.

Feeling a bit happier, Zara thanked the wildcat and hurried towards the river.

At the river, she spied something stuck between two rocks.

With a leap, she jumped in and carried her bat out of the water.

She was the happiest she had been all day.

With her bat in her claws, she hurried back home.

Back in her den, she held her bat close and sighed in relief.

She was no longer worried, and she was ready to play.

With a big roar, she called her buddies for a game.

And so, they spent the rest of the day playing their favorite game.