Once upon a time in a colorful savannah park, a little young elephant named Ellie trekked about, happy and full of fun. She was a unique baby elephant, with long, big ears and the most adorable tiny tail you could imagine. Just picture her in that lovely, shady spot beneath a big gum tree. It was a sunny day, and she felt so cheerful; the little froggies were croaking joyfully. It seemed a good opportunity to visit her friends Necktie the Giraffe, Blinky the Koala, and some others.
So she bravely took the road leading to the river. The first creature she encountered was Hyena, always half mad with what he called laughing.
“Hello there, Lady,” he grinned. “What do you want?”
“What a lovely day it is!” sighed Ellie. “It’s so pleasant to see you again. I’ve hardly met anybody that I knew except yourself, but I’m sure all my friends will be glad to see me.”
“Oh, will they?” grinned the Hyena. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. Good-day to you.”
“Good-day,” said Ellie, bewildered at so unkind a speech, and moved along.
A little further on, she stumbled against old Grumpy, the tortoise, who didn’t notice her until she rather roughly touched him.
“Don’t you know enough to go round a gentleman sitting down?” he inquired sulkily.
“Pray excuse me,” said Ellie. “I did not intend to disturb you; but I’m so happy, and it’s such a beautiful day, that I’m afraid I’d like to be so full of joy as to disturb the whole universe.”
This put him in a good humor, so he said, “You’re a kind young lady, I believe.”
Nevertheless, that rude first acquaintance made Ellie feel a little sad. Here she was, with all her happiness in her heart, and nothing but grumbling in her ears, and adventures always represented the bad rather than the good. However, she trudged on.
Next she came to the tableland where old Necktie had his home. It lay a little higher than the hills, and there was a well in the very center, always full of water. Hyena lived on the road to this, but all said he was too ill-natured to live on the tableland.
Necktie was very pleased to see her: so were Blinky and every other person there; but they said she arrived just too late to see Mr. Bumbo.
“I had such fun with Mr. Bumbo making trunks,” said Necktie, “and he was so kind as to teach me while he worked away copying mine. I can hardly believe him gone, for this evening you know we are going to see the titles of town-talk. That’s where he always appeared. Poor Manx that has never been out of his deep jungle is sure to be affected!”
“What town-talk means I don’t know,” thought Ellie.
“Good-day, good-day, my friends,” she said. “I can’t stop here always, and to tell you the truth, I was thinking of paying a visit to Little Wolf and Fox, that will be at home by this time, especially as both are grieved at Mr. Bumbo’s absence tonight.”
“Let us all go,” said Necktie.
Ellie looked heedul: “You will not mind it,” said she to her friends, “if I speak to my acquaintances who live by the road; but I hope it will not have that measured sound they call laughing.”
Very gently, they plodded on together, and when Hyena met them, he opened his mouth so wide in astonishment that Necktie put his head into his mouth and exclaimed:
“I beg your pardon, I cannot remember your face at all. I don’t know whether we were ever introduced, but Good-day to you,” without thinking of the secrecy of the affair.
Then they accompanied Ellie into a clearing where Fox was feeding flutteringly about, and coming up with a wild overture, she told them all how happy she had been received.
“Somebody ought to do him good,” exclaimed little Blackie.
Before long Manx arrived. Of course there was some talking when the ladies had withdrawn, but in league with some of the cleverest of the town ladies, Strong and Thump, a great rock failed to attract the attention of all. Nevertheless they gave him a bounteous supper before they left him pitching his tent in a big vacant space all by himself.
Ellie bade her friends Good-night, and when seated in her old place murmurred to herself:
“Every one of you think of me, think of me, think of me.”
Never was there such a King as Bumbo, were he in favor, but none had such estimable manners as were noted in our good King!