The Brave Elephant

• Harvey Ren, Grade 2
• Short Story
• 2022

Deep in the country, there was a vivid green forest. In the middle was a little cave, where an elephant called Trumpet lived.
He had flappy vivid pink ears, a wiggly tail, a wavy trunk, bright twinkly eyes and snowy-white toenails.
Although he was beautiful, he was as timid as a mouse, and always hid in the shadows for he was so shy.
One day, he decided to go out for a walk. His great big feet made the earth tremble and his light grey leathery skin shone in the sunshine. As he walked, he suddenly heard a muffled weird sound. His flappy ears pricked up.
Then he galloped toward the direction of the sound and soon he came to a crystal clear river. Suddenly, Trumpet heard a terrified trumpet of an elephant down the river. ‘What was that?’ thought Trumpet, shaken.
But he felt like he must help people if they needed it. So, he waded down the river until he saw another elephant with a blue ribbon tied to its neck facing an alligator baring its teeth. It had pearl-white fangs sticking out of its mouth and scaly skin that shone olive green in the sunlight. He had a sly twinkle in his eye and his sharp claws digging deeply into the earth.
A chill went down Trumpet’s spine when he saw the alligator but he boldly stepped forward. The alligator turned around and stared at Trumpet closely. “Ha! Hi, mousy!” he growled. “What are you doing with that elephant?” he shouted, feeling far less brave than he appeared to be.
The alligator stepped forward. He bared his teeth and pounced on him. But Trumpet used his robust body and the alligator bounced right off him. “Off!” cried the alligator as he hit on a sharp rock. Trumpet leapt forward and landed heavily on the alligator. The alligator pounced back and Trumpet kicked out at the alligator. His foot broke some of the alligator’s teeth. The alligator gave a howl of pain and scuttled into his cave like a frightened rat. “You will be sorry for this!” he threatened and disappeared into his cave. In a flash, Trumpet scampered to the river bank and rolled an enormous boulder, and covered the entrance of the cave.
The elephant that the alligator tried to eat came up to Trumpet. “Oh, you brave elephant!” she said. Then she gasped. “Aren’t you the elephant that was as timid as a mouse - Trumpet!” She solemnly took off the ribbon on her neck and handed it to Trumpet, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Well, the lion can take back his stolen gold.”
The next day, the lion took the gold back happily and claimed the alligator as his servant too.
The alligator spent the whole night scrubbing the floors and walls. As for Trumpet, he was sitting next to the stove, having a fine meal, and a sack of gold packed neatly in a chest that the lion had rewarded him.