Fifteen years later, Judy Hopps worked her tail off in the Zootopia Police Academy. She was small compared to the rest of the cadets—who were mostly elephants, rhinos², and bison—but she was strong-willed.

 

Because of her size, the physical training was the toughest part. Cadets had to get through obstacles in simulators that mimicked³ all of the twelve unique ecosystems⁴ that made up the city of Zootopia. From freezing Tundratown to sweltering Sahara Square, each ecosystem⁵ presented its own set of challenges—whether it was trying to scale an ice wall or survive in a scorching⁶ sandstorm.

 

Judy fell down more than anyone. In her mind she could hear the voices of her parents, her drill instructor⁷, and Gideon Grey all doubting that there could ever be a bunny cop. And it was those voices that made Judy work harder than anyone else. Through persistence⁸ and perseverance⁹, she managed to keep up and surprise everyone.

 

In the final weeks of training, Judy used her bunny skills, like her strong legs and her great hearing, to help prove her worth. She sailed through the physical obstacles and at times even passed the other cadets. Once, she knocked down a male rhino¹ ten times her size during a final sparring session!

 

On graduation day, Judy took her place among the other graduates during the ceremony, including the rhino who sported a fat lip and a black eye. The mayor, a lion named Leodore Lionheart, stepped up to the podium.

 

"As mayor of Zootopia, I am proud to announce that my Mammal Inclusion Initiative has produced its first police academy graduate. The valedictorian of her class...ZPD's very first rabbit police officer, Judy Hopps. Assistant Mayor Bellwether¹⁰, her badge?" the mayor said to a small sheep standing¹¹ nearby.

 

"Oh! Yes. Right," said Bellwether.

 

"Judy, it is my great privilege to officially assign you to the heart of Zootopia: Precinct One, City Center," Lionheart said.

 

Judy walked across the stage to the sound of deafening¹² applause—the loudest coming from her parents, even as Stu sobbed¹³.

 

Mayor Lionheart handed Judy her diploma while Bellwether stepped forward and pinned her ZPD badge onto her uniform. "Congratulations, Officer Hopps."

 

"I won't let you down. This has been my dream since I was a kid," said Judy.

 

"It's a real proud day for us little guys," Bellwether whispered.

 

"Bellwether, make room, will you?" said Lionheart, smiling broadly. "All right, Officer Hopps. Let's see those teeth!"

 

A photographer posed Judy with Mayor Lionheart and Bellwether. But Lionheart edged Bellwether out of the photo.

 

Days later, Judy's parents, along with several siblings¹⁴, accompanied her to the train station.

 

"We're real proud of you, Judy," said Bonnie.

 

"Yeah. Scared, too," said Stu. "Really, it's a proud-scared combo. I mean, Zootopia. It's so far away and such a big city."

 

"Guys, I've been working for this my whole life," Judy told her parents, trying to hide how thrilled she really was.

 

"We know," said Bonnie. "And we're just a little excited for you, but terrified."

 

"‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,'" said Judy.

 

"And also bears," said Stu. "We have bears to fear, too. To say nothing of lions, wolves..."

 

"Wolves?" Bonnie asked, perplexed¹⁵.

 

"...weasels...," Stu continued.

 

"You play cribbage with a weasel," said Bonnie.

 

"And he cheats like there's no tomorrow. Pretty much all predators¹⁶ do—and Zootopia's full of 'em. And foxes are the worst."

 

"Actually, your father does have a point there," added Bonnie. "It's in their biology. Remember what happened with Gideon Grey?"

 

"When I was nine," said Judy. "Gideon Grey was a jerk who happened to be a fox. I know plenty of bunnies who are jerks."

 

"Sure. We all do. Absolutely," said Stu. "But just in case, we made you a little care package to take with you." He held out a bag.

 

"And I put some snacks in there," said Bonnie.

 

Judy looked inside and saw a bunch of pink spray canisters. "This is fox repellent," explained Stu, picking one up.

 

"Yeah, that's safe to have," said Bonnie.

 

"This is fox deterrent¹⁷...," Stu said, pointing at something that looked like an air horn.

 

"The deterrent and the repellent. That's all she needs," Bonnie said, trying to stop Stu from going overboard.

 

"Check this out!" Stu said as he pulled out a fox Taser and turned it on, causing it to sizzle.

 

"Oh, for goodness' sake! She has no need for a fox Taser, Stu."

 

"Come on. When is there not a need for a fox Taser?" asked Stu.

 

"Okay, I will take this to make you stop talking," said Judy. She grabbed the pink can of fox repellent as the train approached.

 

"Terrific! Everyone wins!" Stu exclaimed.

 

"Arriving! Zootopia express!" called the conductor.

 

"Okay. Gotta go. Bye!" said Judy, heading for the train.

 

Stu and Bonnie held back tears as they watched their daughter walk off. Suddenly, Judy turned back and ran to her parents. She wrapped her arms around them both. "I love you guys," she said, hugging them.

 

"Love you, too!" said Bonnie.

 

After one more hug, Judy jumped onto the train.

 

"Cripes, here come the waterworks," said Stu as his tears started to flow. "Ahhahoho jeesh..."

 

"Oh, Stu, pull it together," whispered Bonnie.

 

The big crowd of bunnies watched Judy go, and as the train pulled away, they ran next to it, waving and shouting their goodbyes.

 

"Bye, everybody! Bye!" Judy called.

 

When their faces faded into the distance, Judy climbed to the observation deck and took a deep breath. She pulled out her phone and clicked on some music, feeling like her life was about to begin.

 

十五年之后，朱迪·霍普斯在动物城警察学院竭尽全力地学习。与其他学员相比——大部分是大象、犀牛和野牛——她的个头较小，但是她意志坚强。

 

由于个头的缘故，体能训练对她来说是最艰难的部分。学员们需要穿越仿真障碍，这些仿真障碍都是模仿构成动物城的十二种独特生态系统而建。从天寒地冻的冰川镇，到闷热难耐的撒哈拉广场，每种生态系统都展现了其独有的一系列挑战——不管是试图攀爬冰墙还是在灼人的沙尘暴中求生。

 

朱迪倒下去的次数比其他人都多。在她的心中，她能听到很多人的声音，她父母的、操练教官的和吉丁·格雷的，所有人都对兔子当警察表示怀疑。而就是这些声音使朱迪比其他任何人都要努力。经过坚持不懈的奋斗，她成功地坚持了下来，令所有人都大吃一惊。

 

在训练的最后几个星期里，朱迪运用了兔子的本领——比如她强健的腿力和敏锐的听力——来证明自己的价值。她顺利地通过了物理障碍，有时候甚至还超越了其他学员。有一次，她在拳击赛决胜局还击倒了一头个头是她的十倍的雄性犀牛。

 

毕业典礼那天，朱迪坐在了其他毕业生中间，包括那头嘴唇发肿、眼睛乌青的犀牛。狮子市长利奥多·莱昂哈特踏上了颁奖台。

 

“作为动物城的市长，我很荣幸地宣布‘动物选拔计划’产生了第一届警察学院毕业生。致告别辞的毕业生代表是……动物城警察局史上第一位兔子警官——朱迪·霍普斯。羊副市长，她的徽章呢?”市长对站在身旁的一只小个头绵羊说道。

 

“哦!对，在这里。”羊副市长说道。

 

“朱迪，我很荣幸地正式派你去动物城的中心：中心城1号辖区。”狮市长说道。

 

伴随着震耳欲聋的鼓掌声，朱迪穿过颁奖台走了过来——最响亮的掌声来自她的父母，斯图甚至都激动得抽泣起来。

 

羊副市长走向前，将动物城警察局徽章别在朱迪的制服上，狮市长则把证书递给了朱迪。“恭喜，霍普斯警官。”

 

“我不会让您失望的。这是我从小的梦想。”朱迪说道。

 

“这真是我们小个头动物值得骄傲的日子。”羊副市长轻声说道。

 

“羊副市长，腾个地儿，好吗?”狮市长笑容可掬地说道，“好了，霍普斯警官，让我们面带笑容!”

 

一位摄影师摆好了朱迪与狮市长和羊副市长的姿势。但是狮市长将羊副市长挤出了镜头。

 

几天后，朱迪的父母和几位兄弟姐妹陪伴她来到了火车站。

 

“我们真为你感到骄傲，朱迪。”邦妮说道。

 

“的确。也很担心，”斯图说道，“实际上，是既骄傲又担惊受怕。我是说，动物城离家太远，而且城市太大。”

 

“各位，我这辈子都在为此奋斗，”朱迪一边对她的父母说着，一边尽力掩饰她是多么喜不自胜。

 

“我们唯一需要害怕的就是害怕本身。”朱迪说道。

 

“还有熊，”斯图说道，“我们还害怕熊，更不用说狮子、狼……”

 

“狼?”邦妮困惑不解地问道。

 

“……鼬鼠……”斯图继续说道。

 

“你常和鼬鼠打克里比奇纸牌。”邦妮说道。

 

“他骗起人来脸不红心不跳。所有的食肉动物都这样——动物城里到处都是这些家伙，而狐狸是最卑鄙的。”

 

“事实上，你爸爸在这一点上说得很有道理，”邦妮补充道，“这是他们的天性。还记得吉丁·格雷的事吗?”

 

“我九岁那年，”朱迪说道，“吉丁·格林还是个头脑简单的家伙，可他偏偏是一只狐狸。我认识很多头脑简单的兔子。”

 

“当然，我们都是。的确如此。”斯图说道，“不过以防万一，我们为你准备了一个随身爱心小包裹。”他拿出了一个袋子。

 

“我还放了一些点心进去。”邦妮说道。

 

朱迪朝袋子里看了看，发现一堆粉色的喷雾罐。“这是防狐液，”斯图拿起一个，解释道。

 

“对，带上这个有备无患。”邦妮说道。

 

“这是驱狐剂……“斯图指着某个看着像是扬声器一样的东西说道。

 

“防狐液和驱狐剂。她需要的都有了。”邦妮说着，试图阻止斯图太过极端。

 

“看看这个，”斯图一边说，一边掏出防狐狸泰瑟电击枪，并打开了开关，它发出嘶嘶的响声。

 

“哦，看在上帝的分上!她不需要防狐狸泰瑟枪，斯图。”

 

“得了吧。什么时候不需要防狐狸泰瑟枪?”斯图问道。

 

“好吧，我会带上这个，省得你们争吵。”朱迪说道。看到火车驶近了，她便抓起了那罐粉色的防狐液。

 

“太棒了!大家都满意了!”斯图高兴地叫道。

 

“进站了!动物城特快列车!”检票员喊道。

 

“好了，要走了，再见!”朱迪说着朝列车走去。

 

斯图和邦妮强忍住眼泪看着他们的女儿渐行渐远。突然，朱迪转过身奔向她的父母。她抱住他们。“我爱你们。”她拥抱着他们说道。

 

“我们也爱你!”邦妮说道。

 

再次拥抱之后，朱迪跳上了列车。

 

“天哪，眼泪出来了。”斯图说着，眼泪涌了出来。“啊啊啊，嘤嘤嘤……”

 

“哦，斯图，振作一点。”邦妮柔声说道。

 

一大群兔子目送朱迪离开，火车开动时，他们都随火车奔跑，边挥手边呼喊着再见。

 

“再见，各位!再见!”朱迪喊道。

 

当他们的面容消失在远方时，朱迪爬上观景台，深吸了一口气。她掏出手机，播放了几首音乐，感觉属于她的生活马上就要开始了。

点击收听单词发音