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“ He held onto his new prized possession night
and day for three months, playing with it during

the day and coiling it up to sleep on at night.”

13 On another birthday, the zookeepers staged a tug-of-war
with a three-inch-thick, forty-foot-long nautical rope that had
once been attached to a ship’s anchor. The men put a big knot in
the middle of the rope so if Willie won, he wouldn’t be able to pull

the rope through the bars and into his cage. When the game began,
five partygoers held onto one end of the rope, and Willie B. sat in his
enclosure, holding onto the other. Willie held the rope effortlessly, looking
rather bored. Five more men were added to the other side. Willie
continued to sit as he held onto his end of the rope. Five more men joined
in and grabbed hold of the rope—a grand total of fifteen men—and pulled
with all their might. Well, that got Willie’s attention. He stood up, let go of
the rope, and sent all fifteen men flying! As the men scrambled to get back
on their feet, Willie B. yanked the rope, knot and all, into his cage. He must
have decided that the rope would make a fine birthday present. He held
onto his new prized possession night and day for three months, playing

with it during the day and coiling it up to sleep on at night.

Big Changes for Willie B.

14 In 1984, the Grant Park Zoo, where Willie B. lived, was considered by the
Humane Society of the United States to be one of the worst zoos in the
country. The animals were housed in cramped, dirty, and inhumane
conditions. When some animals died and some went missing, a grand jury
began an investigation into the zoo. According to former mayor Andrew

Young, if it weren’t for the zoo’s star attraction—Willie B.—the whole
operation might have been shut down. In 1985, Mayor Young appointed
Dr. Terry Maple as the zoo’s new director. Maple took charge and made
some big changes, including giving the place a new name: Zoo Atlanta.
15 Dr. Maple knew that Willie B. drew a big crowd, but he also
knew that Willie’s life of solitary confinement was all wrong.

possession A possession is something you own.
inhumane To be inhumane is to be cruel and unfeeling.
solitary Someone who is solitary is alone.

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