Story At the Central Park Zoo , Marty the zebra celebrates his tenth birthday but has grown bored with his daily routine and longs to experience the wild. Marty's best friend is Alex the lion , who enjoys showing off for the public and his celebrity status as "the king of New York". Alex attempts to cheer Marty up, but Marty, still unsatisfied, learns that the zoo's penguins —Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private—are trying to escape, and follows them out. Alex, Melman the giraffe , and Gloria the hippopotamus pursue Marty and attempt to convince him to return. The four, along with the penguins and two chimpanzees named Mason and Phil, converge at Grand Central Station where the authorities sedate them using tranquilizer guns . Under pressure from anti-captivity activists, the zoo is forced to ship the escaped animals by sea to a Kenyan wildlife preserve. During their travels, the penguins es...
Story Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden , published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective , tells the story of a fictional geisha working in Kyoto , Japan , before, during and after World War II , and ends with her being relocated to New York City . In 1929, 9-year old Chiyo Sakamoto and her 15-year-old sister, Satsu, are sold by their father to work within the entertainment districts of Kyoto. They are taken from their home, the coastal fishing village of Yoroido along the Sea of Japan , and travel to Kyoto by train; upon arrival, Chiyo is taken to the Nitta Okiya (geisha boarding house) in Gion , whereas Satsu - deemed less attractive and therefore a poor investment - is instead taken to a brothel within Kyoto's pleasure district. Chiyo is taken inside, and is introduced to Auntie, Mother (Auntie's adoptive older sister and th...