In no time, Bob had all the funniest-looking animals in the zoo putting on shows for the crowds.

The boy grabbed an umbrella from a grown-up. He twirled it around, teaching the umbrellabird an old-fashioned dance routine.

Next, the boy pushed his chin down to his chest so his neck bulged out. The marabou stork copied and began proudly showing off his dingly-dangly neck.

Then he had the elephant seal make a trumpeting sound from his stumpy trunk.

The real elephant next door looked most displeased to be beaten at her own game, and went into a giant sulk.

Then Bob put his face up to the aye-aye’s cage and made his eyes go as wide as he could. The little lemur copied him, and in no time at all had the zoo visitors jostling for a look.

Following that, Bob pinched his nose and blew into it, making it as big as he could. After a few tries, the hooded seal did the same, to the delight of the crowd.

The sloth was famous for being the slowest animal on earth. The boy taught her to move even slower. The children began playing a game of Grandma’s Footsteps with the sloth, turning around to see if she had moved. She hadn’t.

Then Bob lifted his nose and marched up and down outside the tapir’s enclosure. The animal followed the boy, pushing her huge cone-shaped nose proudly into the air for all to see.

Next, the boy showed the warthog how to preen herself as if she was the most beautiful creature on earth. Soon she was posing for the cameras like a supermodel.

He taught the snapping turtle to open her mouth wide and then snap it shut as fast as she could.

The zoo visitors were mightily impressed by this strange-looking creature’s skill.

After that, Bob grabbed a handful of straws from the zoo café and stuck them to the back of his school blazer with chewy sweets. The boy raced over to the echidna’s enclosure, and jumped down on to all fours. The animal looked on curiously, and Bob began arching his back. The echidna did the same, proudly showing off his marvellous long white spikes.

Racing off to the next cage, Bob put his hand over his nose and flicked his fingers in and out. This encouraged the star-nosed mole to show off his most unusual hooter.

Next, Bob coaxed the spotted handfish out from behind a rock, by gliding his hand across the glass. In no time it was as if the boy’s hand and the fish were swimming together, and the crowd was marvelling at this marvellous creature.

Soon after, the boy found the pangolin. Bob rolled himself up into a ball and the animal copied him, creating the biggest pine cone the world had ever seen.

A bottom as bright red as a tomato is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it should be celebrated. Bob wiggled his bottom in front of the hamadryas baboon’s cage. The monkey needed little encouragement, and soon was putting on the best bottom-wiggling show ever seen.

The Komodo dragon looked like a dinosaur. Children love dinosaurs, thought Bob. All he had to do was make the lizard act like a dinosaur. So he taught her to roar like one.

Soon the dragon’s roar was so loud it could be heard all over the zoo. This was much to the annoyance of the tiger, who had always thought of herself as the best at roaring.

There was just one more animal, thought Bob. Flushed with the thrill of it all, Bob raced off to find him. But not looking where he was going – the boy ran slap-bang into a grown-up.

His funny face bounced off the man’s fat tummy.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” came an angry voice.

The boy looked up. It was the zoo owner, Sir Basil Basildon.