After they finished eating, Mummy asked Daddy about the pile of wooden slats in the front yard.
He explained that they were from a crate they had dismantled. Then she asked him why there is a large cage sitting on the front lawn. Just then Marmalade yawned loudly from the basement.
“What is that?” Mummy asked.
“Marmalade,” said Addy and Daddy.
Mummy opened the door to the stairway to the basement.
“There is something with big eyes down in the basement,” she said.
“That is Marmalade,” said Addy.
“Marmalade?” asks Mummy.
“A tiger,” said Addy.
“A tiger called Marmalade?” asked Mummy.
“It’s actually a Siberian Tiger,” said Daddy. “They are accustomed to cold temperatures. They have two Siberian Tigers in the Toronto Zoo.”
“This is not Toronto,“ said Mummy, “We’re in a small town two hours north of Toronto.”
She looked down at Marmalade.
“He seems comfy in the basement. Is he hungry? When does he eat?”
“I fed him some sausages, cold cuts, chicken, and sliced beef,” said Addy.
“Daddy, did Addy do the cooking?” asked Mummy.
“He ate them straight from the fridge. The sausages and the sliced beef were raw,” said Daddy.
“Oh my,” said Mummy.
“Some people eat raw meat with a raw egg and a glass of beer,”said Daddy. “It’s called Steak Tartare.”
“I don’t think he’ll eat any eggs,” said Addy. “But he did eat some cold chicken.”
Mummy looked down the stairway.
“He’s asleep.”
Marmalade snored. Mummy closed the door quietly.
“Let’s look at this closely,” she said.
Mummy liked to look at things closely. Daddy says it’s because she’s a librarian. She could be a research scientist. She always wants to know why things are like they are.
Mummy looked at Daddy who was on his laptop.
“What are you doing, Daddy?” she asked.
“Finding out more about Siberian Tigers.”
“We need a meeting,” said Mummy.
Being a librarian and someone who could be a research scientist, Mummy would call for a meeting when there was something important to be discussed. So Mummy and Daddy and Addy had a meeting about what to do next.
“First,” said Mummy, “how did we end up with a tiger with an expensive diet in our basement?”
Addy and Daddy related the sequence of events to her.
“The crux of the problem,” Mummy said, “began online. We will attempt to use it to solve our problem.”
Daddy said, “We have a cage and a crate for transportation to the zoo. I can put the crate and cage onto our trailer and haul it to the zoo. Should we ask the zoo?”
“Yes.” said Mummy.
Addy said they should ask Marmalade.
“Of course,” Mummy replied.
Daddy phoned the zoo. When he hung up he said they already have two tigers in the zoo. From the basement they heard Marmalade yawn.
“He’s awake,” said Addy.
Daddy opened the door to the basement.
“Could you come here, Marmalade?” he said. “We have a proposition for you.”
