The animal control cops then took Jabber to the Wonderland Zoo/Aquarium, where he was thrown into a shark exhibit.

"There! That should keep you from ruining our fair beach!" said the cops as they drove off.

"Sheesh, so much for a day out on the town." Jabber mumbled. "I gotta find a way out of here."

He then looked around for a way out and he saw some plants and coral that replicated his native home of the sea.

"You know, a shark could get used to a place like this." He thought. "Reminds me of home."

While Jabber had been looking around, a school field trip had arrived to observe the exhibit.

"Okay class, as you can see, this is the shark exhibit." said the teacher. "And to your right, you can see a shark wandering around the exhibit like a complete idiot. As you can see, they ain't too bright."

"Au contrarie, sharks are actually some of the sharpest creatures on Earth!" Jabber lectured the teacher. "We may have tiny brains, but we ain't no dummies! Keep that in mind!"

His remark prompted the teacher and students to jump into the air as their hairs spiked.

"Aaaahhhh!" They screamed and ran away.

"Was it something I said?" He wondered.

"Psst..." Somebody whispered. "Hey buddy. Over here!"

"Who said that?" Jabberjaw looked around. "Are you a ghost?"

"Down here, in the vent!" The voice whispered.

Jabber swam to the vent and knocked on it. Just then, a purple octopus with a shirt and a sailor hat popped out.

"Come with me if you want to live." He said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jabber asked.

"Just come with me." said the octopus. "I'll explain later."

Jabberjaw shrugged and swam down the hole, following the octopus.


When they emerged at the other side of the hole, Jabber saw a few more aquatic animals.

"Squiddly, you have returned." said a seal. "And I see you have brought a new guy."

"That's right, Sneezly." Squiddly nodded. "He will make a fine addition to our team."

"Team? What team?" asked Jabber.

"A team that's about to bust out of this joint." Squiddly explained.

"Bust out?" asked Jabber. "Why would you wanna bust out? This place is great."

"Don't let it all fool you!" said Squiddly. "This zoo-aquarium is a prison for animal-kind. Man traps us in these cages and forcing us to do cheap tricks for snack throwing tourists who heckle us."

"Just look at Wally, here." Sneezly pointed to an alligator. "He got stuck in this zoo when he was just a hatching and look how pathetic he turned out."

"Hey! I ain't pathetic! I'm just hopeless when it comes to being outside of captivity." Wally retorted.

"I rest my case." Sneezly deadpanned.

"And you guys have been here for quite some time?" Jabber looked at the others.

"Indeed." Sneezly nodded. "Back in the Arctic north, my best pal, Breezly and I were just minding our own business and then we got hit with some pointy things that came out of nowhere and when we woke up, we were in the Wonderland Zoo, being stared at by obnoxious humans and having our next meals tossed at us."

"Geez, that's no respect." Jabber remarked.

"You got that right!" Squiddly exclaimed. "That's why we are going to bust out of this joint tonight and win back our freedom!"

"Freedom, we will beat him..." the other animals sang.

"By hand..." a baby seal finished.

After looking at the other animals and thinking it over for a bit, Jabber had finally come to a decision.

"Okay, I'll help you!" He said.

"Perfect!" Sneezly exclaimed.

Squiddly spread out a map depicting the entire zoo and a set of blueprints.

"Alright boys, this here is a blueprint of the whole interior of each zoo pavilion and next to it is a map/coloring page of the whole exterior of the zoo." Squiddly said. "Each section is filled to the brim with security, but that will not stop us. Now here's the plan..."


Author's Note:

Well folks, VIVA LE WONDERLAND! Stay tuned and see if Jabberjaw can help his new friends escape this dreadful prison!