“Wroar!” The booming roar escaped my lungs as I held my baby crocodile. I am the most powerful two-year-old!
“Are you excited to see crocodiles at the park today?” Mommy asks, peering at me in the rearview mirror.
“Yes!” I eagerly reply as the crocodile swims in the air.
After a long time, we finally arrived at the crocodile park. I quickly scan the perimeter; there is a giant crocodile painting on the wall but no real crocodiles.
Please don’t tell me this is it, as tears form in my eyes.
“Please come to the waiting area for your crocodile tour,” someone bellows in the overhead speakers. The tears disappeared as quickly as they came. Mommy holds my hand as we walk towards the door, passing a litter of pigs.
Kids are standing on a deck, looking through a fence. My head turns towards their gaze. There is a small lake to the left of the swamp; two giant crocodiles are waiting in the shallow water. The tour guide walks towards the lake with a stick clamping onto a piece of raw chicken.
“Honey, come over,” he shouts.
He waves the stick above the massive crocodiles’ heads. One of them jumps onto shore, its short, strong legs digging into the ground while it arches its upper body up, mouth wide open, reaching for the chicken. That one must be Honey.
“Come here, girl,” the tour guide says calmly, luring Honey closer to the fence where I was standing. The crocodile snaps at the tour guide’s legs. Luckily, he jumps back just in time. “No chicken for you,” the tour guide puts the chicken into a bucket and pokes the empty stick on the crocodile’s back, pushing it into the water.
Out of nowhere, I hear a big splash behind me and then a bellowing hiss.
I turn around and found another crocodile against the fence, trying to reach the deck.
“Down!” I screamed while the other kids hid behind me. My fingers point to the ground.
“Get down!” I confidently shout—the crocodile retreat into the water, its beady eyes peering slightly above the surface.
“Down!” I stomp my feet while the crocodile continues to glare at me. No chicken for you if you don’t behave.
“Good job, Izzy,” Mommy says proudly. “You are so brave!”
See! I AM the most powerful! As we enjoy the rest of the tour, I search the perimeter for more naughty crocodiles.
NOTE: After the 1.5-hour tour, we sat by the resting area as they passed around baby crocodiles, lizards, and snakes. Izzy was screaming in terror and refused to touch them. I guess she can only handle adult crocodiles!