Disclaimer: I do not own The Animal Show. It's the property of Jim Henson's Muppets.

"Observe, as I show off how my armor can protect me in the wild, just like I showed you on your show, Stinky," said Sly the Crocodile, as he took a dip in the Nile River, or what was serving as a mock-up of the Nile River for the moment.

Stinky the Skunk stood back and watched as Bosko, a Baboon that he had also befriended, got ready to spring.

"Don't be afraid to be a little rough with me, Bosko," said Sly. "It's part of the exercise."

"Don't you worry about that, crocy," replied Bosko.

"Are you sure you're going to be safe, Sly?" asked Stinky, "I'm afraid of what could happen to you fellas!"

"Relax, Stinky," said Sly, "This is just a simulation. Nobody's going to get hurt. Trust me."

"Okay," said Stinky, getting ready to close his eyes if anything bad happened.

Sly came running out of the water, something that crocodiles weren't very good at. Bosko leapt out from his crouch and landed on top of Sly. Bosko wrestled with Sly and scratched his skin, as baboons were sometimes known to do to crocs leaving the safety of the Nile River, but after half-looking away for a few seconds, Stinky saw that no real harm was being given to Sly's body.

"See? What did I tell you?" said Sly, "Like armadillos, we crocodiles can protect ourselves from harm. And Bosko's example shows that includes when a baboon assaults a croc coming out of a river, or a pool in the middle of an African drought."

Stinky grinned. "Well thanks, Sly," he said, "Although now I'm even more convinced that I need armor like that myself."

"Well, you're neither a crocodile nor an armadillo, Stinky," said Bosko, "You've gotta be what you are, a skunk. But you have your own protective instinct, too, like your defensive stink-spray that can also sting an enemy's eyes. So don't be down on yourself for being a skunk instead of a crocodile like Sly."

"Yeah, you're right," said Stinky. "And it sure was a lot of fun watching you guys doing that! Don't you think?"

"It was fun doing it," said Sly, "But the real thing is more serious, so don't be in a big hurry to see a croc defend her/himself in the future."

"I'll remember that, Sly," said Stinky. "I sure will remember it."

A/N: This is my very first The Animal Show fan fiction, so I'm just warming up to writing stories about it here. And yes, The Animal Show is fiction. It's about real animals, but it's Muppet animal characters and stories are fictional.