Wave and I entered the forest expecting to catch a glimpse of the legendary and mysterious fantastical creature of Pingret Forest, when its shadow suddenly appeared before us! With its eyes draped in dark spots and its belly as pale as a purple ghost’s sheets, it suddenly stopped eating and flashed a glare at us! It then turned and stomped towards us, its footsteps THUNDERING on the ground. It shook us to our very core, as we were totally unprepared!
And then – would you believe it – it walked up to my face and looked straight into my very wide eyes. I let out a SHRIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEK, (loud enough for all of Punny Garden to wake up to) and hugged its cutest fluffy face! It was an Eggplant Panda, one of the most elusive creatures of Pingret Forest! Professor Wave had always wanted to study one, and I only came along because I was told an eggplant panda had the most adorable, the fluffiest face ever and to this day, I would wholeheartedly agree. I immediately gave him the name Bamboo because he was chewing on a bamboo stick when we found him. Not super imaginative, I know, but to be honest, the name fits so well that I know the Universe wanted it so and who am I to go against the Mangonificent Universe?
Bamboo was so gentle he would never hurt a fly! He was even happy to give a soft paw shake and let Professor Wave measure his paw size with a tape measure. I giggled when the professor tried to gently coax Bamboo to open his mouth so that he could examine his teeth. Bamboo looked at the professor curiously but decided to oblige and open his mouth wide. Professor Wave explained to me that an interesting feature was that Eggplant Pandas can repeat simple words in their husky voice if you bribe them with tasty bamboo shoots. I tried this with Bamboo and to my surprise he actually did it! I said “Say Hi Bamboo” and he said “Hi Bamboo!” And he did so in the most cute fashion that made me laugh uncontrollably again. Bamboo was definitely one of a kind, and I left that forest in hopes that I will meet him again someday!