Chapter 27

The next day, all the news channels aired footage of Bellwether in an orange jumpsuit, being led to jail. “Former mayor Dawn Bellwether is behind bars today, guilty of masterminding the savage attacks that have plagued Zootopia of late,” said a newscaster.

The footage showed Lionheart being led out of prison.

“Her predecessor, Leodore Lionheart, denies any knowledge of her plot, claiming he was just trying to protect the city,” the newscaster said. “A reporter interviewed Lionheart from jail.”

“Did I falsely imprison those animals? Well, yes. Yes, I did. Classic ‘doing the wrong thing for the right reason’ scenario. Know what I mean, Kitty?”

“No. No, I do not,” answered the reporter, deadpan.

Back in the studio, the newscaster continued. “In related news, doctors say the night howler antivenom is proving effective in rehabilitating all of the victims.”

When Mr. Otterton awoke inside the hospital, his wife was hugging him tightly. Judy was there, watching and smiling.

“Thank you,” said Mrs. Otterton gratefully.

Months later, Judy stood proudly at a lectern giving the commencement address to graduates of the Zootopia Police Academy.

“When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything...Turns out, real life’s a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes, which means...hey, glass half full! We all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. No matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant to our first fox, I implore you: Try. Try to make a difference. Try to make the world better. Try to look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us.”

Nick approached the stage. He stood tall in front of her, his chest out. Judy pinned on his badge.

The crowd went wild with applause as cadets threw their caps high up into the air.

“All right! Enough! Shut it!” said Chief Bogo.

Judy and Nick took their seats among the other cops in the bullpen. Bogo stood up at the front, calling order. “We have some new recruits with us this morning,” said Bogo. “Including our first fox. But...who cares?”

“You should have your own line of inspirational greeting cards, sir,” said Nick sarcastically.

“Shut your mouth, Wilde,” said Bogo, then began calling out assignments. When he finally got to Judy and Nick, they waited eagerly. “Hopps, Wilde...Skunk Pride Parade. Dismissed.”

“Fun,” said Nick. “Funny guy.”

“Parade detail is a step up from parking duty,” Judy said.

Bogo looked as if he was going to smile...but then he didn’t.

第 27 章

第二天，所有的新闻频道都在播放羊市长身穿橘色囚衣、被押入狱的视频。一位主播报道：“前市长道恩·贝尔韦瑟以谋划狂暴攻击的罪名被关押入狱，她的罪行近来给动物城带来了沉痛的灾难。”

同时，新闻还播放了狮市长被释放的视频。

主播说：“她的上任里奥多尔·莱昂哈特不承认对她的谋划知情，他坚称自己是试图保护城市。一位记者在监狱采访了狮市长。”

“是我误关了那些动物吗?嗯，是的。是的，是我误关了。这不就是典型的‘好心办错事’嘛?你懂我的意思吗，小猫?”

记者面无表情地说：“不，不，不懂。”

演播室里，主播继续说：“相关新闻报道，医生说夜嚎者抗毒剂已被证明对所有受害者康复均有疗效。”

当奥獭顿先生在医院醒来时，他的妻子紧紧地抱住了他。朱迪在一旁微笑地看着他们。

奥獭顿太太感激地说：“谢谢你!”

几个月之后，朱迪站在了讲台上，自豪地为动物城警察学院的毕业生们做演讲。

“小时候，我以为动物城是一个完美世界，每个人都可以过得很好，都能成为自己想要成为的人……但事实证明，真实的世界比贴在汽车保险杠上的标语要复杂一些。真实世界有点混乱。我们每个人都有局限。我们每个人都会犯错，这意味着……嘿，看开点!我们都有共同点。我们越是努力去相互理解，就会变得越优秀。但是我们必须尝试。你是大象也好，是狐狸也好，不管你是什么物种，我在这里恳求你们：去尝试。试着做点事情出来。试着让我们的世界变得更加美好，试着观察自己的内心，你要认识到，改变是从你自身开始。改变从我开始，改变从我们每一个人开始。”

尼克走近讲台，站在她前面，昂首挺胸。朱迪为他别上警徽。

观众席报以热烈的掌声，毕业生们将帽子抛向空中。牛局长说：“好的，够了，停一下。”

大厅中，朱迪和尼克坐在了其他警察中间。牛局长站在前面发布指示：“今天早上，我们迎来了新一批警察，包括有史以来第一只狐狸!不过……谁管他是不是狐狸。”

尼克挖苦道：“长官，你该准备一份鼓舞人心的欢迎稿了。”

“闭嘴，王尔德。”牛局长说完便开始分配任务了。当最终轮到朱迪和尼克时，他们俩都激动极了。“霍普斯，王尔德……你们负责臭鼬骄傲大游行，解散吧。”

尼克说：“你是在开……开玩笑吗?”

朱迪说：“负责游行已经比看停车场强一些了。”

牛局长看起来好像想笑的样子……但是没笑出来。