bluffing.” The man’s other hand gripped the back of Corey’s shirt. “Even if you aren’t, no one can get in here. I should have got rid of you kids as soon as I found you,” he growled. “I should have tied you up, too. Or locked you in the snake house.”
Too? thought Ellen. Who else is tied up?
“I had the baby monkey,” Corey whimpered. “I was taking it back to its mother but he grabbed me and made me lose it.” The man yanked Corey’s shirt and Corey gulped, to keep from crying.
“Stand still and be quiet,” the man said. “I need to think.”
A twig snapped. Ellen jumped. Beside her, she felt the man stiffen. Was the baby monkey following them? She peered into the darkness and she knew the man and Corey were doing the same. A large shape moved toward them from Ellen’s right and Ellen realized it was an elephant.
They are such big, strong animals, she thought. If only I had their strength. If only they could help us.
And then she thought, maybe they can. The trainer had told her that elephants have the reasoning ability of a third grader. He said some elephants understood thirty different commands. If the elephants were that smart, maybe she should try to talk to them. Maybe they would get her message.
She tried to block everything else out of her mind, the way she did when she sent her thoughts to Prince. It wasn’t easy to do when she was so frightened but her weeks of practice helped.
She concentrated only on the large, dark shape that ambled toward her through the trees.
Friend elephant. Help us. We are your friends and we’re in danger. Please help us.
The elephant stopped. It stood quietly for a moment while Ellen silently repeated her urgent plea.
Friend elephant: help us.
The elephant moved its trunk back and forth, sniffing.
Ellen heard movement from her left now. Another elephant?
The first elephant lifted its trunk and trumpeted. Theloud, sudden noise sent chills down Ellen’s arms. Was it answering her? Or did it trumpet because it somehow sensed her fear and Corey’s? Maybe it just wanted to warn the other elephants that there were strangers in the Elephant Forest.
Farther back in the forest, a second elephant answered.
“We’re going to have an earthquake!” Corey cried. “A BIG earthquake.”
“What are you talking about?” the man said.
Ellen wondered the same thing.
“Listen to them,” Corey said. “The elephants do that when they’re scared. They can sense earthquakes before people can. Before the last big earthquake in San Francisco, all the elephants in the San Francisco Zoo trumpeted, just that way, to warn the other elephants that they were in danger. The keeper at the San Francisco Zoo said they wished they had listened to the elephants and left town before the earthquake hit.”
For a moment, Ellen believed him and wondered how he knew what had happened in San Francisco. Then she realized it was another of Corey’s tall tales. He was trying to frighten the man. Perhaps if the man got scared enough, he would run away, to try to save himself from disaster.
“Corey’s right,” Ellen said. “We read about it in
Junior Geographic
magazine. The elephants started trumpeting about ten minutes before the earthquake began.”
“One man who was visiting the zoo that day got a broken leg during the earthquake when a tree fell on him,” Corey said. His words spilled out like water from a pitcher, flowing faster and faster, the way he alwaystalked when he got into one of his stories. “Afterward, he said if he had known that the elephants were trying to warn him, he would have run far away from the zoo and gone somewhere safe to hide, like a basement. Instead, his leg was crushed under the tree and he was almost trampled when the elephants stampeded.”
The first elephant stepped closer. Its trunk reached toward them, as if wanting to touch or smell them. The man leaned backward.
Ellen tuned out Corey’s voice. She focused all of her energy on
Too? thought Ellen. Who else is tied up?
“I had the baby monkey,” Corey whimpered. “I was taking it back to its mother but he grabbed me and made me lose it.” The man yanked Corey’s shirt and Corey gulped, to keep from crying.
“Stand still and be quiet,” the man said. “I need to think.”
A twig snapped. Ellen jumped. Beside her, she felt the man stiffen. Was the baby monkey following them? She peered into the darkness and she knew the man and Corey were doing the same. A large shape moved toward them from Ellen’s right and Ellen realized it was an elephant.
They are such big, strong animals, she thought. If only I had their strength. If only they could help us.
And then she thought, maybe they can. The trainer had told her that elephants have the reasoning ability of a third grader. He said some elephants understood thirty different commands. If the elephants were that smart, maybe she should try to talk to them. Maybe they would get her message.
She tried to block everything else out of her mind, the way she did when she sent her thoughts to Prince. It wasn’t easy to do when she was so frightened but her weeks of practice helped.
She concentrated only on the large, dark shape that ambled toward her through the trees.
Friend elephant. Help us. We are your friends and we’re in danger. Please help us.
The elephant stopped. It stood quietly for a moment while Ellen silently repeated her urgent plea.
Friend elephant: help us.
The elephant moved its trunk back and forth, sniffing.
Ellen heard movement from her left now. Another elephant?
The first elephant lifted its trunk and trumpeted. Theloud, sudden noise sent chills down Ellen’s arms. Was it answering her? Or did it trumpet because it somehow sensed her fear and Corey’s? Maybe it just wanted to warn the other elephants that there were strangers in the Elephant Forest.
Farther back in the forest, a second elephant answered.
“We’re going to have an earthquake!” Corey cried. “A BIG earthquake.”
“What are you talking about?” the man said.
Ellen wondered the same thing.
“Listen to them,” Corey said. “The elephants do that when they’re scared. They can sense earthquakes before people can. Before the last big earthquake in San Francisco, all the elephants in the San Francisco Zoo trumpeted, just that way, to warn the other elephants that they were in danger. The keeper at the San Francisco Zoo said they wished they had listened to the elephants and left town before the earthquake hit.”
For a moment, Ellen believed him and wondered how he knew what had happened in San Francisco. Then she realized it was another of Corey’s tall tales. He was trying to frighten the man. Perhaps if the man got scared enough, he would run away, to try to save himself from disaster.
“Corey’s right,” Ellen said. “We read about it in
Junior Geographic
magazine. The elephants started trumpeting about ten minutes before the earthquake began.”
“One man who was visiting the zoo that day got a broken leg during the earthquake when a tree fell on him,” Corey said. His words spilled out like water from a pitcher, flowing faster and faster, the way he alwaystalked when he got into one of his stories. “Afterward, he said if he had known that the elephants were trying to warn him, he would have run far away from the zoo and gone somewhere safe to hide, like a basement. Instead, his leg was crushed under the tree and he was almost trampled when the elephants stampeded.”
The first elephant stepped closer. Its trunk reached toward them, as if wanting to touch or smell them. The man leaned backward.
Ellen tuned out Corey’s voice. She focused all of her energy on
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