“That all you’ve got, Fu Bao?” Fu Bao was tussling with his best friend Gou Huo. He conceded as she pinned him in triumph. “Hah! That’s why I’m the six-time Bamboo Cup Wrestling Champion!”
Fu Bao rolled over. “Fine, but I’m still superior at Tug of Shoot.” Exhausted, he collapsed in the grass, drifting off to sleep.
Long ago, when his molars were too tender to chew bamboo and his legs too flimsy to crawl, Fu Bao received a name. He was called “Blessing”, and he grew up in a caring home with the loving caretakers at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Fu Bao had started to eat panda cakes—specially formulated treats of vegetables and fruits—and already loved the sweet potato flavor. Everything was warm and happy. Little did he know he’d soon go somewhere far away.
Fu Bao opened his eyes. “Fu Bao, come here!” It was Emily, his favorite caretaker. She always brought him sweet potato cakes and an ever present smile. Today, however, her expression was strained. Instead of the usual vet checkup, Emily brought him somewhere else.
“What happened?” Gou Huo asked when he returned. “Where were you? Can I have your panda cake?”
“They took me to a strange crate that resembles our habitat,” Fu Bao replied. “I’m back now, though!”
For a week, Fu Bao explored the crate every morning. One day, everything changed.
The next week, Emily announced, “Instead of the crate, spend some time with your friends. Also, I’m sorry.” Fu Bao felt confused and unnerved. In the afternoon, Emily brought him back to the crate. Minutes later, it began lurching. He heard muffled words like “Smithfodian” and “Watchington B.C.” Too tired to worry, he fell asleep.
When he came to, everything was silent. There were no other pandas, and the caretakers that delivered food to him spoke an unintelligible language. Apple flavor panda cake, he observed. I’m definitely not at the research base anymore.
Minutes turned into hours, hours into days. Fu Bao languished in his confinement, wondering what he had done wrong.
Weeks passed, and he grew inconsolable. One day, snippets of one of Emily’s conversations with him about college graduation and Washington D.C. echoed in his mind. “America… that’s where I must be right now.”
One morning, distant voices filled the air. Large swaths of people gathered in the exhibit area. Although initially frightened by the pointing and the gasps, Fu Bao’s curiosity grew. Approaching the crowd, he heard a familiar voice. “Fu Bao, come here!” Joy swelled in him as Emily held out a soft yellow treat she called a “French fry” and whispered, “Don’t tell them, but I brought your favorite flavor. Sorry, gotta go to my new job! See you soon!”
Just then, something collided into him. He turned to see a mass of black and white fur.
“I missed you,” Gou Huo said.
“Me too,” Fu Bao replied.And as the shuttering cameras ceaselessly flickered, Fu Bao truly felt blessed.
Written by Jonathan Li
