My Snake Hermit

The other day we went to the Houston Zoo.  It was the perfect day - not too hot, not too cold, and not too crowded.  Upon our arrival, I decided that, if our friends agreed, we were going to try and attend some of the zookeeper talks rather than just aimlessly walking around (which is what we normally do).  Our friends agreed, so we were walking around the reptile house while waiting for the first talk to begin.  Surprise!  We were able to see a talk that wasn't on the map.  Some volunteer ladies were there showing off a snake and a lizard.  Since there was hardly anybody at the zoo, we were able to view the animals and hear about them without any others around.  The volunteers told us the name of the animal, what type of snake or lizard it was, where it lived, what it ate, and a few other nuggets of information.  It was great!

Then, it was time for us to head to the "scheduled" talk on sea lions.  Along the way, Lilly decides to pick up a fat stick.  She shows me the stick and says,
"This is my snake, Hermit.  He lives in America.  He eats hard things like rocks, bricks and other hard things.  Do you want to pet him?  You have to use 2  fingers and be very gentle." 

It was the cutest thing ever, but then I realized she just learned - through observing those volunteers - how to give an oral report on an animal.  How cool is that?!