Elephant In The Garden PDF

Rory tugged his father's sleeve. 'There's an elephant in the garden.' 'That's nice,' Dad said. He picked up two shopping bags from the car. The elephant stopped munching to watch them. Dad turned around. 'Jeepers, why didn't you tell me it was for real?' he said to Rory. He dropped the shopping b...

Rory tugged his father's sleeve. 'There's an elephant in the garden.' 'That's nice,' Dad said. He picked up two shopping bags from the car. The elephant stopped munching to watch them. Dad turned around. 'Jeepers, why didn't you tell me it was for real?' he said to Rory. He dropped the shopping bags and raced inside for the phone. 'Hello, police---there's an elephant in the paddock next door! You'd better come and get it.' Rory crept towards the elephant with grass in his hand. His father caught him just as the elephant's trunk swivelled towards him. 'Son, she's a wild animal---we need to keep our distance.' 'Is someone going to take her away?' Rory asked. 'No,' his father said. 'The police say this is her new home.' Every day after school, Rory raced to the back of his garden to see the elephant. Sometimes it was far in the distance. Other days, it swayed its trunk over their fence. 'How did she get here?' Rory asked his dad one day. Dad had done his research. He told Rory about Jumbo's early life ... *Jumbo was born under an African sun. She held onto the older elephants' tails, as they scuffed over dusty plains. In the dusky light, she bathed in muddy rivers.* *One day, hunters attacked. They shoved Jumbo into a corner of their truck. They piled sawn-off tusks around her. That was the last time she saw her herd.* *Jumbo travelled to London, then Asia. She lived in zoos with other animals. She learned to follow a keeper and give rides to little children.* *When Jumbo had grown full-size, her routine changed again. Keepers bustled her onto a ship to sail to the other side of the world. On arrival, she slept in a caravan tent. The next day, a man with a bushy beard tapped her with a whip. He was her new master. She quickly learned she must do what he said.* *The circus trainer taught Jumbo many new tricks. She stood on her hind legs to make her look tall. She tiptoed around the circuit like a dancer. Jumbo travelled all over the country with the circus. The crowds loved her. But it was not what she was born to do. At night, when the trainer shackled her to a cage, she paced back and forth ... restless, wanting to be back with her herd.* *Some people saw that Jumbo wasn't happy. They protested---demanding the circus set her free. But where? Until they decide, they've put her in this paddock behind our house.* 'What will happen to her?' asked Rory. They both looked at Jumbo. She pulled a bale of hay towards her, as if she was poolside, nibbling on grapes. Rory bubbled with excitement. He knew the answer. 'I know. She can join the elephant at the zoo.' Dad shook his head. 'That elephant is Indian and Jumbo is African. They are different sized elephants. She needs to go all the way to America.' Rory felt like he had hundreds of questions scrabbling to get out. 'Why not Africa?' 'It would be cruel to send her back to the wild.' Rory's face scrunched in puzzlement. 'She needs a sanctuary. A place where retired and freed elephants go from circuses. There's such a place in America. But it will cost a lot of money to send her there.' Pictures of Jumbo bathing in muddy rivers crept into Rory's dreams. Every time Rory played with his friends, he thought of Jumbo alone in the field. Rory decided to take some action. He would raise money to send her to America. That afternoon, he squeezed lemons from his backyard tree, mixed in sugar and added water. Then he set up a shop outside and sold lemonade. After one week, he'd saved \$10.10. Rory jiggled the coins in his pocket. 'Dad, how much will it cost to send Jumbo to the reserve?' His dad thought for a while. 'Possibly a million dollars.' Rory's shoulders sagged. His savings wouldn't go far. 'Do you want some help, champ?' But Rory couldn't think of any way he could save that large an amount of money. He felt like he'd let Jumbo down. Rory was mulling over this problem at school. His best friend looked at his muffin. 'Do you want to swap?' he asked. A money-making idea formed in Rory's head. That night, he asked his father for help. Together, they baked blueberry muffins until they were golden. The next day, Rory cut them into small pieces and offered them to his friends. 'Tomorrow I'm going to sell muffins. Put your order in now.' Every night that week he baked and every day he sold muffins, but it was still not enough. His friends offered to make muffins too. They sold them at school, outside the supermarkets and alongside the soccer field. After one month, they had saved \$608. His friends high-fived. Rory calculated it would take many years before they had saved enough. That afternoon, Rory painted a picture of Jumbo to help soothe his worries. If only he could come up with a big money-saving idea. He concentrated and worried so much he didn't notice Jumbo beside him. Jumbo wrapped her trunk around the paint brush, dipped it into the paints and flicked the brush across the paper. 'You can paint!' Rory rushed inside to tell Dad. 'We could sell her paintings on the internet!' Dad told him how they could ask for crowd funding. 'What's that?' asked Rory. 'We ask people to pledge money and give rewards like Jumbo's paintings to say thanks.' Rory knew they could make this work. Rory watched the pledges come in. Five pledges the first day. Three the next and only one on Wednesday. He needed to draw attention to it. Rory looked at Jumbo's paintings. Perhaps a TV reporter might be interested. That night, a TV crew set up in their garden. The reporter interviewed Rory and Dad, while Jumbo ambled around the field. She wouldn't come close enough to show her painting skills. The next night, another film crew filmed them. Jumbo didn't like the flashing cameras. She bolted for the far corner. Rory wondered if the reporters doubted Jumbo could paint.   The next day, Rory set up his paints and waited for Jumbo to approach. Sure enough, she splattered paint over the paper. Rory's father filmed it on their video camera. They sold the clip to a TV station. That night, it was the talk of the nation. Like a domino effect, more people donated money. Soon other charities stepped in to save money for Jumbo too. The fundraising had become bigger than Rory. For it to succeed, he knew he had to let it go. Getting Jumbo to America was more important. A keeper and her helpers volunteered to care for Jumbo at their small zoo. It felt like a part of Rory was being wrenched away when they took Jumbo away. Dad said, 'Focus on the big picture, son.' Rory thought of the painting on his wall of Jumbo playing in mud. He wiped away his tears and wished her luck. Six months later, Rory's class received a photo of Jumbo. 'With your help, Jumbo has settled into her new retirement home in America,' wrote the new keeper. That night, Rory dreamed of Jumbo bathing with other elephants. He smiled in his sleep. She belonged to a herd once more.