Hakuna Matata, Zanzibar! The African Adventures of Socrates the Cat

Socrates has been a family philosopher, an accidental space traveller and a celebrated theatre performer. After so many adventures, he expects peace. Instead his next journey will take him from home to Zanzibar and the African savanna, where lions, leopards, elephants, hyenas and cheetahs live by very different rules. Far from the safety of civilisation, he must discover whether intelligence, courage and friendship are enough to survive in the wild.

The Cat Who Refused to Catch Mice

Back with the Smirnovs, Socrates enjoys being reunited with Pukha and his beloved Bella. Yet his experiences have changed him. Since befriending laboratory mice on the International Space Station, he refuses to hunt them. When a neighbour borrows him to clear mice from a chicken shed, Socrates instead visits the rodents' underground community. Its clever ruler, Mavrodi, has created an elaborate financial scheme: mice deposit grain and are promised enormous returns. Socrates recognises its absurdity and asks how the system can pay everyone at once. The ruler is less interested in answering than in maintaining power. Socrates returns without catching any mice, convinced that negotiation is more civilised than violence.

The Traveller Named Columbus

An old friend of Alexander Petrovich arrives. His name is Andrey, though his passion for discovering distant places has earned him the nickname Columbus. He is an experienced traveller and photographer planning a project called The Travelling Cat. He wants a feline companion for journeys documented with photographs, videos and social media, and he has chosen Socrates.

The cat is horrified. He would rather eat well at home and spend romantic evenings with Bella. Yet the adults agree. Andrey arranges travel documents, veterinary care and an identification microchip. Socrates fears the chip may turn him into a robot; inspection of his reflection reassures him. Before leaving, Andrey shows documentaries of African wildlife. Socrates imagines lions, leopards and cheetahs welcoming him as a fellow member of the great feline family. The destination is Zanzibar, an island of Tanzania.

The journey through airports is full of humiliations for a cat who hates carriers and inspections. During an uncomfortable security check, Socrates accidentally urinates on an officer, causing laughter. Their route takes them from Moscow via Muscat, Oman, to Zanzibar. The heat, noise, smells and languages overwhelm Socrates. Local children are fascinated by him, though their enthusiastic embraces can be exhausting. With Andrey he explores Stone Town, learns its history and visits locations associated with Freddie Mercury. On an island inhabited by enormous tortoises, he meets an elderly tortoise named Tortilla. They argue comically about longevity, beauty and the very different lives of cats and reptiles.

The Savannah

Andrey organises a mainland safari. With guide Omar and driver Simba, they travel to Dar es Salaam and onward to Mikumi National Park. The savanna stretches to the horizon, dominated by baobabs. Socrates sees giraffes, antelopes, elephants and a lion whose regal appearance does little to improve his opinion of monarchies.

The jeep approaches a herd of elephants with young calves. Believing the vehicle threatens their children, the enraged animals charge. Simba accelerates over rough ground. Socrates, who was enjoying the view from the roof, cannot safely return to the car. As it races beneath a tree, he leaps to a branch to avoid being swept into the elephants' path. The jeep disappears. Socrates is left entirely alone in the wilderness.

He hopes Andrey will come back, but as hours pass he grows hungry and frightened. A leopard resting in a tree has little sympathy for a lost domestic relative, explaining that each animal must survive on its own. At least it warns Socrates about hyenas. As darkness approaches he narrowly escapes terrifying scavengers and searches for a place to hide.

Lola and the Cubs

Then he hears young voices calling for their mother. Under a bush he finds three cheetah cubs, Billy, Willy and Milly. Their mother has gone hunting, and they fear she will never return. The cubs remind Socrates of anxious human children, and Milly begs him to stay. He agrees. When their mother Lola finally arrives, she is suspicious of the stranger but learns that he has comforted her young and allows him to remain.

Life among wild animals is not the romantic idyll Socrates imagined. Lola must hunt constantly and has no guarantee of food or safety. Her cubs face danger everywhere. She tells him of Pablo, an ageing lion who uses his strength to steal prey caught by others. Socrates, an indignant philosopher, despises powerful creatures exploiting the vulnerable.

When Lola leaves to hunt again, the cubs become hungry. Socrates catches small birds to feed them. Then Pablo approaches. The lion could kill the domestic cat with one blow, but the cubs are hiding nearby. Socrates steps forward, questions the lion's claim to unquestioned authority and attempts to distract him with arguments and absurd questions. He even claims that armed humans have entrusted him with protecting the cubs.

Lola returns carrying an antelope. Pablo immediately turns to seize her catch. She would rather surrender it than die and leave her children without a mother. Socrates challenges him again. Pablo admits that age has made hunting difficult. Socrates acknowledges his plight but insists that a genuine king must not take all the food a mother risked her life to obtain. Eventually Pablo agrees to accept half the antelope, leaving the other half for the cheetah family. Lola's gratitude deepens their friendship.

Two Lives Saved

During a visit to a watering place, Socrates sees what looks like a log floating near shore. He approaches, but Lola suddenly seizes him by the scruff and pulls him back. It is a crocodile waiting to strike. A moment later he would have been killed. Lola reminds him that he protected her children; now she has returned the favour. Socrates is shaken and moved. He has been saved not by civilisation, but by a wild animal he once assumed might regard him as prey.

Lola is also famous for races against cars in the reserve. A ranger named Badi has earned her trust, and the races raise money for veterinary treatment and animal care. Socrates hopes that Andrey may be watching. Lola agrees to help. The spectators cheer as she races with breathtaking speed and wins, but Andrey is absent. Socrates despairs of seeing home again. Lola continues searching for another solution.

Reunion and Farewell

Andrey has never stopped looking. For three days he has searched the reserve, asked for assistance and published messages. He has promised the Smirnovs not to leave Tanzania without their cat. Badi eventually learns that Socrates is living with Lola and her cubs and arranges a reunion.

Andrey rushes to embrace the small cat he thought lost among lions, leopards, hyenas and other predators. He is astonished to see how comfortably Socrates has lived with a family of cheetahs. The reunion is joyful, but saying goodbye hurts. Socrates has come to love Lola and her children; Lola wishes such a trustworthy friend could stay. She affectionately licks his face, and Socrates promises never to forget her.

Back in Zanzibar, preparing to fly home, Socrates understands how much he has changed. He has faced fear, hunger and helplessness; saved three cubs, challenged a lion and narrowly escaped a crocodile. Courage does not always mean fighting, power does not make a leader good, and friendship can arise between very different creatures. More than ever, he appreciates safety, food, affection and the chance to return to loved ones. Settling into his carrier he remembers the phrase heard throughout the journey: Hakuna matata — no worries. For once, simply being alive is enough.

Hakuna Matata, Zanzibar! The African Adventures of Socrates the Cat is a funny, suspenseful and affectionate journey about courage, compassion, responsibility and the extraordinary bonds that arise even in a world ruled by the struggle for survival.