Elephants to the rescue
ABIRAMI MUTHUKRISHNAN
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When Bob had fallen into the trap for the third time, the animals decided that the poacher must be taught a lesson.
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The whimper grew louder as Tinku the giraffe and Picnic the deer neared the grassy edge of the river bank — at the edge of the forest where the river entered the forest. Two soulful eyes looked up at them from tall blades of grass. It was furry and white, and caught in a wire-mesh trap. The giraffe and deer shook their heads.
“You never learn do you?” they asked. “Haven’t we told you not to come to the forest boundary?”
Bob hung his head in shame. This was the third time his friends had to rescue him. “Thanks for finding me, guys,” Bob croaked. He looked relieved. “You always arrive in the nick of time.”
A plan
Tinku held the trap box in his big teeth and together Tinku and Picnic took Bob to the old gorilla’s house. He had a strong thumb and he could open the trap in no time. Bob thanked the old gorilla and ran off happily with Tinku and Picnic to play in the river.
The three of them splashed about with the elephant herd. The long trunks spouted water and soon everyone was thoroughly wet. They asked the elephants what they could do about the poachers.
The leader said,” Hah! That is very easy. Humans are afraid of just one thing. Leave it to us!”
The next time the poacher came, the animals were ready. They saw the poacher set his trap.
Picnic and some of his deer friends ran past. They went in a big rush without much noise. The poacher hid himself and watched them. He planned to hunt them down. But soon, the giraffes ran by, making as little noise as possible. Next, a few birds few past. The poacher began to get scared. Then came the elephants in an enormous cloud of dust. They shuffled past as fast as they could and moved deeper into the forest.
Leaves fell, and the ground shook, but there was no sound at all. It was spooky, and the poacher began to sweat.
Suddenly, there was a mighty rumble. It sounded fierce and everything within sight shook and trembled. A mighty roar sounded through the forest. There was a big tearing sound as a tree fell in the distance. The sound of birds screeching reached his ears. Then some branches broke away and fell down. Surely it was a mad elephant! Its trumpeting was echoing through the forest. And it was fast approaching.
The poacher took to his heels. He ran like the wind. Watching from his hideout, Bob laughed.
“Humans are afraid of big animals even when they are calm,” said the elephant. “If one of us approaches a town, there is so much fear. So a mad elephant just scares them!”
The poacher never returned.
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