"In the Zoo" is a short story about two orphaned sisters forced to live with a family friend who teaches them lessons of negativity, suffering, and cruelty. The perseverance and hope at the core of the sisters allows them to rise above their situation, although they bear the scars of their childhood forever.

As the story begins, two sisters - the narrator, and the other named Daisy - sit on a bench at the Denver Zoo and watch a blind polar bear, a rambunctious black bear, some grizzly bears, and a group of monkeys. The sisters meet every other year as the narrator visits Daisy who then accompanies her to Denver to wait for her train back East.

As the sisters watch the antics of the animals, they are struck by the resemblance of the polar bear to a man named Mr. Murphy from their...