THIRTEEN ELEPHANTS MOVE IN!
photo: Richard Harris
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter One. The doorbell rings.
It was around 3:30, Thursday afternoon when the doorbell rang. Pip and Ginger were home from school and Mrs. Drummond was preparing their favorite after-school treat – cinnamon toast. She had just finished slicing her delicious home-baked egg bread. She was about to toast the slices lightly, then she would spread the cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture over the slices and broil them to a bubbly, delicious perfection. Ginger always said that if you went up on the roof and you looked as far as you could see, there was no one in all those houses and streets and schools and shops and offices and mountains and valleys who could bake as deliciously as Mrs. Drummond.
You see, they had a flat roof you could walk on that had a little tower. Ginger loved to go out on the roof and sit under the tower, look out at the world and think about all the wonderful things that were going to happen to her in her life.
When she heard the doorbell, Mrs. Drummond said,
“I wonder who that is? We’re not expecting anyone.”
Pip, who was a thoughtful and helpful boy, and who also didn’t want his cinnamon toast delayed, said,
“Do you want me to answer that, Mrs. Drummond?”
“No, I’d better get it myself, Pip,” she said as she used a pretty little towel adorned with pictures of pies and cakes and cookies to wipe her hands. When she opened the front door a happy look of astonishment spread across her face. For standing in a neat little group in front of her were thirteen of the smallest, cutest elephants she had ever seen! None of them was over two feet tall and each was a different color. Mrs. Drummond smiled and said
“Well hello! What can I do for you?”
One of the elephants spoke up and said,
“Hello Mrs. Drummond. My name is Ganesh. Mr. Tuttle the mailman said that we could find you here. You see…Well, this is going to take a little time to explain…”
“Well in that case you’d better all come in and have some cinnamon toast and tell us your story.”
“Thank you Mrs. Drummond!” all thirteen elephants said at once as they filed into the house, being careful to step softly, because even though they were very small elephants they still had those big flat elephant feet and they knew that fifty-two elephant feet all marching at once could shake anyone’s house!
Pip and Ginger pulled up more chairs, Mrs. Drummond quickly sliced more bread and pulled out an extra toaster and soon everyone was sitting around the big kitchen table with plates of bubbling cinnamon toast in front of them. The elephants carefully cut their toast into little pieces, then they used their trunks just like elephants always do, which is to say that they breathed in strongly which made their trunks behave like vacuum cleaners. They lowered their trunks carefully over their plates until a piece of toast rose off each plate and stuck on the end of each trunk. Each elephant curled his trunk around and deposited the toast piece into his mouth by breathing out. Then they carefully chewed and swallowed.
Pip thought, “Gee, I’d like to have one of those to grab things. Wouldn’t that be fun!”
Mrs. Drummond served everyone some of her famous special hot cocoa and then she sat down to find out what this visit was all about.
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter One. The doorbell rings.
It was around 3:30, Thursday afternoon when the doorbell rang. Pip and Ginger were home from school and Mrs. Drummond was preparing their favorite after-school treat – cinnamon toast. She had just finished slicing her delicious home-baked egg bread. She was about to toast the slices lightly, then she would spread the cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture over the slices and broil them to a bubbly, delicious perfection. Ginger always said that if you went up on the roof and you looked as far as you could see, there was no one in all those houses and streets and schools and shops and offices and mountains and valleys who could bake as deliciously as Mrs. Drummond.
You see, they had a flat roof you could walk on that had a little tower. Ginger loved to go out on the roof and sit under the tower, look out at the world and think about all the wonderful things that were going to happen to her in her life.
When she heard the doorbell, Mrs. Drummond said,
“I wonder who that is? We’re not expecting anyone.”
Pip, who was a thoughtful and helpful boy, and who also didn’t want his cinnamon toast delayed, said,
“Do you want me to answer that, Mrs. Drummond?”
“No, I’d better get it myself, Pip,” she said as she used a pretty little towel adorned with pictures of pies and cakes and cookies to wipe her hands. When she opened the front door a happy look of astonishment spread across her face. For standing in a neat little group in front of her were thirteen of the smallest, cutest elephants she had ever seen! None of them was over two feet tall and each was a different color. Mrs. Drummond smiled and said
“Well hello! What can I do for you?”
One of the elephants spoke up and said,
“Hello Mrs. Drummond. My name is Ganesh. Mr. Tuttle the mailman said that we could find you here. You see…Well, this is going to take a little time to explain…”
“Well in that case you’d better all come in and have some cinnamon toast and tell us your story.”
“Thank you Mrs. Drummond!” all thirteen elephants said at once as they filed into the house, being careful to step softly, because even though they were very small elephants they still had those big flat elephant feet and they knew that fifty-two elephant feet all marching at once could shake anyone’s house!
Pip and Ginger pulled up more chairs, Mrs. Drummond quickly sliced more bread and pulled out an extra toaster and soon everyone was sitting around the big kitchen table with plates of bubbling cinnamon toast in front of them. The elephants carefully cut their toast into little pieces, then they used their trunks just like elephants always do, which is to say that they breathed in strongly which made their trunks behave like vacuum cleaners. They lowered their trunks carefully over their plates until a piece of toast rose off each plate and stuck on the end of each trunk. Each elephant curled his trunk around and deposited the toast piece into his mouth by breathing out. Then they carefully chewed and swallowed.
Pip thought, “Gee, I’d like to have one of those to grab things. Wouldn’t that be fun!”
Mrs. Drummond served everyone some of her famous special hot cocoa and then she sat down to find out what this visit was all about.
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
photo: Richard Harris
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Two. Everyone is introduced.
“Let me start by introducing everyone,” said Ganesh, the gray elephant who had spoken first and seemed to Mrs. Drummond to be the leader. Pointing to the bright canary yellow elephant next to him he said,
“This is Arabella. She is very good at arithmetic and keeping track of everyone’s birthdays. She is also my one true love.”
Next to her was a very handsome black elephant with marvelous long eyelashes.
“This is Balthazar. He is the strongest of us and he’s a really good cook.”
Looking down at his plate as if making sure he hadn’t missed any food was a chubby teal blue elephant.
“This is Max. He is an accomplished painter and has an advanced degree in geography.”
Ginger noticed Max had bits of different colored paints staining his tusks.
“He must use his tusks when he paints” she thought, “I wonder if he stirs the colors with them?”
Next to Max was a purple elephant with slightly gold tusks.
“This is Babar. He is our expert on how things work. He knows everything about everything. Next to him is Isidora. She is a medical doctor and a ballet dancer.”
Isidora was seafoam green with beige tusks. She was a very stylish elephant.
“Next we have Richard” said Ganesh, pointing to an orange elephant with brown polka dots.
“He speaks sixteen languages and is a furniture maker. On the far end on this side of the table is Dumbo. He is an airplane pilot and a master puppeteer.”
Dumbo was pearl colored with little shining stars all over his body.
“And next to him is Lucy. She is a complete computer nerd. In fact she doesn’t do anything else.”
Lucy was a lovely silver color with a wonderful glow that made her look like she was lit up.
“Next to Lucy is Alexander. He is an engineer and he specializes in antique cartography.”
Alexander was striped in magenta and lime green.
“What’s cartography?” asked Pip.
“It’s the making of maps,” said Ganesh. “Alexander always knows how we should go to get to where we are going. He got us to your house. Next to him is Elizabeth. She is a guitar player and a sailor.”
Elizabeth was salmon colored.
“Next to her is Amadeus. He’s our historian as well as being the one in charge of supplies and equipment.”
Amadeus was all the colors of the rainbow divided into diamond shapes all over his body.
“And finally, this is Lucky. He is our plumber and champion ping pong player.”
Lucky was golden from trunk to tail tip.
“Six of us are African Elephants and seven of us are Indian elephants.”
“What’s the difference?” asked Ginger.
“African elephants have bigger ears and Indian elephants like to have peanut butter scones with their afternoon tea” said Ganesh.
“What?! No pink elephants or white elephants?” said Mrs. Drummond her eyes twinkling.
“There are no pink elephants” said Ganesh seriously. “Pink elephants are always a figment of someone’s imagination, and just like anyone else, we can’t afford the upkeep on a white elephant.”
“What’s a figment?” asked Pip.
“A figment is what you have when you make something up” said Ganesh.
“Is it wrong to make things up? I like to think up adventures and stuff” said Pip.
“Just like most things that you can do, imagining can be a good thing or a bad thing. It depends on why you do it. If you make something up to fool someone or take advantage of someone or hurt someone, then it’s bad. But if you do it to have fun or to make your life or someone else’s life better, then it’s good. As I said, doing it is neither good nor bad, the goodness or badness depends on your intentions.”
Mrs. Drummond got up to refill the cocoa pot. She said, “I’m Mrs. Drummond, (as you already know) and this is Ginger and this is Pip. And we welcome you. Now, please! What is this all about?”
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Two. Everyone is introduced.
“Let me start by introducing everyone,” said Ganesh, the gray elephant who had spoken first and seemed to Mrs. Drummond to be the leader. Pointing to the bright canary yellow elephant next to him he said,
“This is Arabella. She is very good at arithmetic and keeping track of everyone’s birthdays. She is also my one true love.”
Next to her was a very handsome black elephant with marvelous long eyelashes.
“This is Balthazar. He is the strongest of us and he’s a really good cook.”
Looking down at his plate as if making sure he hadn’t missed any food was a chubby teal blue elephant.
“This is Max. He is an accomplished painter and has an advanced degree in geography.”
Ginger noticed Max had bits of different colored paints staining his tusks.
“He must use his tusks when he paints” she thought, “I wonder if he stirs the colors with them?”
Next to Max was a purple elephant with slightly gold tusks.
“This is Babar. He is our expert on how things work. He knows everything about everything. Next to him is Isidora. She is a medical doctor and a ballet dancer.”
Isidora was seafoam green with beige tusks. She was a very stylish elephant.
“Next we have Richard” said Ganesh, pointing to an orange elephant with brown polka dots.
“He speaks sixteen languages and is a furniture maker. On the far end on this side of the table is Dumbo. He is an airplane pilot and a master puppeteer.”
Dumbo was pearl colored with little shining stars all over his body.
“And next to him is Lucy. She is a complete computer nerd. In fact she doesn’t do anything else.”
Lucy was a lovely silver color with a wonderful glow that made her look like she was lit up.
“Next to Lucy is Alexander. He is an engineer and he specializes in antique cartography.”
Alexander was striped in magenta and lime green.
“What’s cartography?” asked Pip.
“It’s the making of maps,” said Ganesh. “Alexander always knows how we should go to get to where we are going. He got us to your house. Next to him is Elizabeth. She is a guitar player and a sailor.”
Elizabeth was salmon colored.
“Next to her is Amadeus. He’s our historian as well as being the one in charge of supplies and equipment.”
Amadeus was all the colors of the rainbow divided into diamond shapes all over his body.
“And finally, this is Lucky. He is our plumber and champion ping pong player.”
Lucky was golden from trunk to tail tip.
“Six of us are African Elephants and seven of us are Indian elephants.”
“What’s the difference?” asked Ginger.
“African elephants have bigger ears and Indian elephants like to have peanut butter scones with their afternoon tea” said Ganesh.
“What?! No pink elephants or white elephants?” said Mrs. Drummond her eyes twinkling.
“There are no pink elephants” said Ganesh seriously. “Pink elephants are always a figment of someone’s imagination, and just like anyone else, we can’t afford the upkeep on a white elephant.”
“What’s a figment?” asked Pip.
“A figment is what you have when you make something up” said Ganesh.
“Is it wrong to make things up? I like to think up adventures and stuff” said Pip.
“Just like most things that you can do, imagining can be a good thing or a bad thing. It depends on why you do it. If you make something up to fool someone or take advantage of someone or hurt someone, then it’s bad. But if you do it to have fun or to make your life or someone else’s life better, then it’s good. As I said, doing it is neither good nor bad, the goodness or badness depends on your intentions.”
Mrs. Drummond got up to refill the cocoa pot. She said, “I’m Mrs. Drummond, (as you already know) and this is Ginger and this is Pip. And we welcome you. Now, please! What is this all about?”
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
photo: Richard Harris
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Three. When the world was younger.
Ganesh continued,
“Many, many years ago, when the world was much younger, there was a great magician named Faquir. He was a very good man so the Universe looked kindly on him and his magic was very powerful. Back then when the world was much younger there were many less people. Today there are six thousand million people in the world. Back then there were one and a half million people. Back then there was no writing, there was no reading. Everything that everyone knew was repeated aloud and remembered. Villages were few and separated by open country. There were no roads. Sometimes there weren’t even any trails! It was very difficult and dangerous to travel.
The people in Faquir’s village came to him and said,
“O Faquir, life is hard. The wild beasts attack us and eat our children. The great winds join with the pouring rains and destroy our huts. The crawling beasts steal our food and dirty our water. We are undone! You are wise and powerful. Please help us.”
Faquir told them to come back in three days and he would have an answer for them. Faquir was very wise and he knew that people needed to help themselves. If he used magic to solve all their problems they would never learn for themselves. But if he didn’t help them, they could be so discouraged that they would give up and soon there would be no people left. He knew that the people contained the spirits needed to make a better life. Spirits like Ingenuity, Art, Music, Science, Story-telling, Dance, Cooking and Exploration. But the people didn’t realize that they contained them.
“I need to introduce them to their own spirits” he thought. So he burned fragrant herbs and woods and prayed to the spirits of creation. He prayed that the spirits appear to him in a form that would help the people. And they did! Suddenly he was in the midst of a group of talking animals! There was a monkey who said,
“I am Ingenuity.”
And a horse,
“I am Dance”
and a fox
“I am Exploration”
and a chicken,
“I am Cooking”
and a nightingale
“I am Music”
and an elephant,
"I am Story-telling”
And a bear,
“I am Art”
and a lion,
“I am Science”
and so on and so on. When the villagers returned after three days they found Faquir surrounded by the magic animals.
”Go back home with these new friends. Talk about your problems. Your new friends will help you find the answers.”
“But they are just animals” said the villagers, “How can they help us?”
“You know I am wise. You know that I love you. You must trust me. Have I ever broken your trust?” Faquir replied.
Accepting, but not fully convinced, the villagers returned home with the animals. Soon, life improved. The villagers would tackle a problem and get stuck. An animal would make a suggestion. The animal wouldn’t fix the problem, it would just point the people in the right direction. As time went by, the people gained confidence in their own talents. They started making their own suggestions. The animals had lit a spark that now burned in all the people.The animals were no longer needed. But they liked being in the world and working with people. They didn’t want to go back to just being in the spirit world. What were they to do?
Ganesh stopped talking and slowly drank his cocoa. It was getting dark.
“We traveled far today and we need rest. I know Pip and Ginger need to do their homework. Will you allow us to spend the night in your living room? Then, tomorrow I will finish my story and you will know why we are here.”
Mrs. Drummond led them into the living room and made sure that they had everything they needed.
“Good night and sweet dreams” she said as she left them.
“Good and sweet dreams to you! And thank you” said all the elephants together.
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Three. When the world was younger.
Ganesh continued,
“Many, many years ago, when the world was much younger, there was a great magician named Faquir. He was a very good man so the Universe looked kindly on him and his magic was very powerful. Back then when the world was much younger there were many less people. Today there are six thousand million people in the world. Back then there were one and a half million people. Back then there was no writing, there was no reading. Everything that everyone knew was repeated aloud and remembered. Villages were few and separated by open country. There were no roads. Sometimes there weren’t even any trails! It was very difficult and dangerous to travel.
The people in Faquir’s village came to him and said,
“O Faquir, life is hard. The wild beasts attack us and eat our children. The great winds join with the pouring rains and destroy our huts. The crawling beasts steal our food and dirty our water. We are undone! You are wise and powerful. Please help us.”
Faquir told them to come back in three days and he would have an answer for them. Faquir was very wise and he knew that people needed to help themselves. If he used magic to solve all their problems they would never learn for themselves. But if he didn’t help them, they could be so discouraged that they would give up and soon there would be no people left. He knew that the people contained the spirits needed to make a better life. Spirits like Ingenuity, Art, Music, Science, Story-telling, Dance, Cooking and Exploration. But the people didn’t realize that they contained them.
“I need to introduce them to their own spirits” he thought. So he burned fragrant herbs and woods and prayed to the spirits of creation. He prayed that the spirits appear to him in a form that would help the people. And they did! Suddenly he was in the midst of a group of talking animals! There was a monkey who said,
“I am Ingenuity.”
And a horse,
“I am Dance”
and a fox
“I am Exploration”
and a chicken,
“I am Cooking”
and a nightingale
“I am Music”
and an elephant,
"I am Story-telling”
And a bear,
“I am Art”
and a lion,
“I am Science”
and so on and so on. When the villagers returned after three days they found Faquir surrounded by the magic animals.
”Go back home with these new friends. Talk about your problems. Your new friends will help you find the answers.”
“But they are just animals” said the villagers, “How can they help us?”
“You know I am wise. You know that I love you. You must trust me. Have I ever broken your trust?” Faquir replied.
Accepting, but not fully convinced, the villagers returned home with the animals. Soon, life improved. The villagers would tackle a problem and get stuck. An animal would make a suggestion. The animal wouldn’t fix the problem, it would just point the people in the right direction. As time went by, the people gained confidence in their own talents. They started making their own suggestions. The animals had lit a spark that now burned in all the people.The animals were no longer needed. But they liked being in the world and working with people. They didn’t want to go back to just being in the spirit world. What were they to do?
Ganesh stopped talking and slowly drank his cocoa. It was getting dark.
“We traveled far today and we need rest. I know Pip and Ginger need to do their homework. Will you allow us to spend the night in your living room? Then, tomorrow I will finish my story and you will know why we are here.”
Mrs. Drummond led them into the living room and made sure that they had everything they needed.
“Good night and sweet dreams” she said as she left them.
“Good and sweet dreams to you! And thank you” said all the elephants together.
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
photo: Richard Harris
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Four. A new place to live.
The next morning Mrs. Drummond chopped apples and raisins and mixed them with cinnamon as she boiled an enormous pot of oatmeal. Pip and Ginger brought out sixteen bowls and soon everyone was eating oatmeal with fruit and milk. Ganesh continued his story.
“The villagers didn’t need their help anymore but the animals wanted to stay in the world of people. They discussed what they could do. The monkey said, There must be other villages where people need help. Why don’t we go our separate ways and we’ll be able to help that many more people?” They all debated the suggestion. The conversation went around and around, and around and around, until, as is true with most group discussions, it came back to where it had started. The animals agreed that it was a good idea.
At first the villagers were upset when the animals told them of their decision, but then they accepted it. However they insisted that they would organize a banquet to honor the animals before they left. They constructed a huge circular table under the banyan tree in the middle of the village, shaped like a wheel, but in two semi-circles so that people could sit both on the inside and outside of the circle.
The best cooks in the village practiced their art and came up with the most delicious, delectable recipes. The potters made the most beautiful plates, bowls, and cups. The musicians rehearsed and rehearsed. The dancers practiced and practiced. The clothes-makers took their finest skins, feathers and gemstones and made gorgeous banquet clothes for everyone. Faquir worked on spells to make the air as sweet as it had ever been, to make the sunlight as golden as possible, and to make the most fragrant flowers grow around and from the big table.
Finally, the day of the banquet arrived. The villagers assembled under the banyan tree. The musicians played their happy music and the dancers jumped for joy. Faquir led the animals to the table and everyone sat down, except for the musicians and the dancers, of course. When the performance was over, they sat down too, and the feast commenced. It went on all day and night.
Faquir had created a nectar to be drunk with the food, and everyone agreed that it made the food taste better than anything they had ever eaten before, and also helped everyone feel more content and happy to be alive than they had ever felt before. The conversation was filled with laughter as people recounted their favorite stories. When the sun came up in the morning, no one felt tired, but instead everyone felt full of energy.
The animals rose from the table and bade farewell to the villagers. Then, as the people sang a parting song, the animals walked out of the village. They walked for three days before reaching the next village. The horse said,
“This is where I am needed. I will stay in this village.”
“And that was the last time I saw that horse. Yes…”
said Ganesh as he noticed the surprised looks on Pip and Ginger’s faces,
“I was the elephant in the group. One by one we separated as each of us found the village where we felt we were needed. My first village was in the mountains by a lake.The people were very nice but I was lonely without my friends and I also had very much to do to help. So, since I am a spirit of the universe, I have magical powers, and I asked the universe to give me companions, and over time, various elephants showed up. Now there are thirteen of us as you can see. But we haven’t always been the same group. Elephants come and go as they are needed.
We first lived in a large tree in that village. The tree had many hollow parts because it was very old and we turned them into rooms for ourselves. As the centuries went by and people’s lives became more comfortable and complicated, our ways of helping had to be more secret because some people don’t want to believe that we exist and some people don’t want us to exist. For this reason, and also because we grew to like the comforts that people enjoy, we now move into the houses of special people. And that is why we are here. We would like to live in your grandfather clock.”
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Four. A new place to live.
The next morning Mrs. Drummond chopped apples and raisins and mixed them with cinnamon as she boiled an enormous pot of oatmeal. Pip and Ginger brought out sixteen bowls and soon everyone was eating oatmeal with fruit and milk. Ganesh continued his story.
“The villagers didn’t need their help anymore but the animals wanted to stay in the world of people. They discussed what they could do. The monkey said, There must be other villages where people need help. Why don’t we go our separate ways and we’ll be able to help that many more people?” They all debated the suggestion. The conversation went around and around, and around and around, until, as is true with most group discussions, it came back to where it had started. The animals agreed that it was a good idea.
At first the villagers were upset when the animals told them of their decision, but then they accepted it. However they insisted that they would organize a banquet to honor the animals before they left. They constructed a huge circular table under the banyan tree in the middle of the village, shaped like a wheel, but in two semi-circles so that people could sit both on the inside and outside of the circle.
The best cooks in the village practiced their art and came up with the most delicious, delectable recipes. The potters made the most beautiful plates, bowls, and cups. The musicians rehearsed and rehearsed. The dancers practiced and practiced. The clothes-makers took their finest skins, feathers and gemstones and made gorgeous banquet clothes for everyone. Faquir worked on spells to make the air as sweet as it had ever been, to make the sunlight as golden as possible, and to make the most fragrant flowers grow around and from the big table.
Finally, the day of the banquet arrived. The villagers assembled under the banyan tree. The musicians played their happy music and the dancers jumped for joy. Faquir led the animals to the table and everyone sat down, except for the musicians and the dancers, of course. When the performance was over, they sat down too, and the feast commenced. It went on all day and night.
Faquir had created a nectar to be drunk with the food, and everyone agreed that it made the food taste better than anything they had ever eaten before, and also helped everyone feel more content and happy to be alive than they had ever felt before. The conversation was filled with laughter as people recounted their favorite stories. When the sun came up in the morning, no one felt tired, but instead everyone felt full of energy.
The animals rose from the table and bade farewell to the villagers. Then, as the people sang a parting song, the animals walked out of the village. They walked for three days before reaching the next village. The horse said,
“This is where I am needed. I will stay in this village.”
“And that was the last time I saw that horse. Yes…”
said Ganesh as he noticed the surprised looks on Pip and Ginger’s faces,
“I was the elephant in the group. One by one we separated as each of us found the village where we felt we were needed. My first village was in the mountains by a lake.The people were very nice but I was lonely without my friends and I also had very much to do to help. So, since I am a spirit of the universe, I have magical powers, and I asked the universe to give me companions, and over time, various elephants showed up. Now there are thirteen of us as you can see. But we haven’t always been the same group. Elephants come and go as they are needed.
We first lived in a large tree in that village. The tree had many hollow parts because it was very old and we turned them into rooms for ourselves. As the centuries went by and people’s lives became more comfortable and complicated, our ways of helping had to be more secret because some people don’t want to believe that we exist and some people don’t want us to exist. For this reason, and also because we grew to like the comforts that people enjoy, we now move into the houses of special people. And that is why we are here. We would like to live in your grandfather clock.”
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
photo: Richard Harris
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Five. A decision is made
“But you won’t fit in the clock!”
exclaimed Ginger.
“As I said, we have magical powers,” said Ganesh. “ We don’t use them all the time because life would be really boring if we solved every challenge with a spell, but sometimes magic is just the answer. We will construct a small door at the bottom of the clock, and when we stick the tips of our trunks through the door we will get much, much smaller as we go into the clock. That way we can all live together in one house, and we also are not in the way of the people who live in the house, and anyone who doesn’t know we are there, will ever know we are there. And it’s very economical. All of our furniture is very small and we eat much less.”
“Why did you pick us?” asked Mrs. Drummond.
“There are some people who are special and who can help us in our work. And often, they have special problems that we can help them with while they help us. We know that you are some of those special people and that this is the right time for us to work together. Besides, we are going to have a lot of fun together! But first you must decide if you want to be part of this adventure. We will retire to the garden so that you can come to a decision. The elephants filed out the kitchen doos and sat in a circle on the lawn in the middle of the rose garden. They could see Mrs. Drummond throught the big kitchen windows. The children were sitting at the table and Mrs. Drummond was standing by the sink. One spoke and the others listened. Then another spoke, and so on. Finally, the elephants saw the children get up, leave the room and come back with their school packs on. Mrs. Drummond opened the kitchen door and signaled to the elephants. When they had filed back into the kitchen Mrs. Drummond gave Pip an encouraging smile and he said,
“We think this is the most exciting thing to happen to us! Please move into our grandfather clock!” Then hesitatiing, he said,
“Um…because of all this talking and deciding this morning, Ginger and I are late for school, and we were wondering if you could use some of your magic to get us to school on time?..”
Ganesh turned to Dumbo and he stepped forward. He blew a big breath out through his trunk. It turned into a pink cloud which drifted under Pip and Ginger and lifted them off the ground. The kitchen door opened and the cloud carried the children outside. Then it carried them up and away at such a speed that it was as if they disappeared!
“Goodness!” exclaimed Mrs. Drummond.
“Don’t worry”, said Dumbo, “ At that speed no one will see them flying by and they’ll be in class on time, and they’ll be none the worse for wear.”
“Well, I suppose that sort of thing will just take a little getting used to. Is there anything else I can do to help you get settled?” Mrs. Drummond replied.
“All we need is your patience as we temporarily turn your living room into a construction zone, and your permission to begin. Also rest assured that we can restore the clock completely to its original state at any time.” said Ganesh.
At a smile and a nod from Mrs. Drummond he proclaimed,
“Alright everybody, Upwards and Outwards!!!”
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright
To read the whole book in order, click on Books (top of page under blog title) and choose the book.
Chapter Five. A decision is made
“But you won’t fit in the clock!”
exclaimed Ginger.
“As I said, we have magical powers,” said Ganesh. “ We don’t use them all the time because life would be really boring if we solved every challenge with a spell, but sometimes magic is just the answer. We will construct a small door at the bottom of the clock, and when we stick the tips of our trunks through the door we will get much, much smaller as we go into the clock. That way we can all live together in one house, and we also are not in the way of the people who live in the house, and anyone who doesn’t know we are there, will ever know we are there. And it’s very economical. All of our furniture is very small and we eat much less.”
“Why did you pick us?” asked Mrs. Drummond.
“There are some people who are special and who can help us in our work. And often, they have special problems that we can help them with while they help us. We know that you are some of those special people and that this is the right time for us to work together. Besides, we are going to have a lot of fun together! But first you must decide if you want to be part of this adventure. We will retire to the garden so that you can come to a decision. The elephants filed out the kitchen doos and sat in a circle on the lawn in the middle of the rose garden. They could see Mrs. Drummond throught the big kitchen windows. The children were sitting at the table and Mrs. Drummond was standing by the sink. One spoke and the others listened. Then another spoke, and so on. Finally, the elephants saw the children get up, leave the room and come back with their school packs on. Mrs. Drummond opened the kitchen door and signaled to the elephants. When they had filed back into the kitchen Mrs. Drummond gave Pip an encouraging smile and he said,
“We think this is the most exciting thing to happen to us! Please move into our grandfather clock!” Then hesitatiing, he said,
“Um…because of all this talking and deciding this morning, Ginger and I are late for school, and we were wondering if you could use some of your magic to get us to school on time?..”
Ganesh turned to Dumbo and he stepped forward. He blew a big breath out through his trunk. It turned into a pink cloud which drifted under Pip and Ginger and lifted them off the ground. The kitchen door opened and the cloud carried the children outside. Then it carried them up and away at such a speed that it was as if they disappeared!
“Goodness!” exclaimed Mrs. Drummond.
“Don’t worry”, said Dumbo, “ At that speed no one will see them flying by and they’ll be in class on time, and they’ll be none the worse for wear.”
“Well, I suppose that sort of thing will just take a little getting used to. Is there anything else I can do to help you get settled?” Mrs. Drummond replied.
“All we need is your patience as we temporarily turn your living room into a construction zone, and your permission to begin. Also rest assured that we can restore the clock completely to its original state at any time.” said Ganesh.
At a smile and a nod from Mrs. Drummond he proclaimed,
“Alright everybody, Upwards and Outwards!!!”
by Richard Harris
All Rights Reserved
Copyright