Use the story parts, below, to retell the story Owen and Mzee, by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. You will need to cut and paste the events into the correct sequence.

The next day, when the villagers checked on the hippos, they could only find one baby hippo. Unfortunately, he was stranded on a sandy coral reef, far from shore.

Dr. Paula and Stephen came to get Owen. They were going to take him to Haller Park, which would be his new home. It took them several hours to get him moved to the back of their truck and ready to make the 50 km trip.

When Owen was about a year old, heavy rains flooded the Saboki River. The hippos were washed down the river to the coastal town of Malinda.

The villagers tried to rescue the baby hippo with ropes and nets but he kept breaking them.

Owen wasn’t always called Owen. When he was very young he was just another baby hippo. He lived with his mother and about 20 other hippos. They lived along the Saboki River in Kenya.

As the days and weeks went by, Owen and Mzee became best friends. No one really knows for sure why this happened. Some people think it might be because Owen thought Mzee looked like his mother. Whatever the reason, Owen was there when Mzee needed him like a true friend.

Finally, with a strong shark net and help from a visitor named Owen, they were able to get the baby hippo to shore and into a pick up truck. They decided to name him Owen after the visitor who tackled him.

As soon as Owen was let out of the truck at Haller Park, he rushed to Mzee, a giant 130 year old tortoise. Owen crouched behind Mzee the way a baby hippo hides behind his mother. Mzee hissed and crawled away but Owen kept following him.

In the morning, the park workers found Owen snuggled up against Mzee. And Mzee didn’t seem to mind at all. Soon, Mzee seemed to be teaching Owen how to eat leaves.

On December 26, 2004, giant waves flooded the beaches of Malinda, damaging many fishing boats. Many fishermen had to be rescued.