The Cast-Off Kids by Trisha Merry Page B

had a big family kitchen and a room we could convert into a playroom for the kids. There were plenty of bedrooms too – enough to have Gilroy in his own room, away from Paul and
the others. We wouldn’t have three acres at this house, but the garden was larger than average, so it would be fine. The move couldn’t come soon enough.
    One weekend we were all sat around the breakfast table, wondering where to take the children for their Sunday outing.
    ‘Where would you like to go today, kids?’ asked Mike.
    They were not short of ideas: ‘The park . . .’, ‘the conker-tree woods . . .’, ‘the library’ (Daisy’s suggestion), ‘a boxing match’
(Gilroy’s), ‘the cinema . . .’.
    ‘I like animals,’ said Sheena.
    ‘So do I,’ shouted Paul. ‘I love animals.’
    ‘Now that’s a good idea!’ Mike grinned. ‘We could all go to the zoo.’ He turned to look at one child in particular. ‘What about you, Alfie? Would you like to
go and see some real elephants?’
    Alfie looked confused. He looked down at Ellie, his cuddly elephant that he still took everywhere with him, tucked under his arm.
    ‘Are real elephants like Ellie?’ he asked, stroking her grey body and cream tusks.
    ‘Yes, but bigger. We could go and visit her relations in the zoo. Would you like that?’
    Alfie whispered to Ellie. ‘Do you want to see your ’lations?’ Then he listened. ‘Ellie says yes. And I want to go too.’
    He got up and did a little stamping sort of a dance. ‘I can’t wait!’ and everyone laughed to see how thrilled he was.
    So we cleared away the breakfast things and off we went to squeeze everyone into our big estate car, and Ellie as well, of course.
    We were all in high spirits, especially Alfie, and the others hyped him up even further. Mike was the worst.
    ‘Oh, you’re going to see the elephants,’ he sang in his deep voice, watching his driving mirror to see Alfie’s face light up.
    As we all piled out of the car, Alfie clutched Ellie to his chest and took hold of Mike’s hand as we paid to go in – very expensive, but it was worth it for Alfie alone. I’m
not keen on zoos myself – never have been – but I was looking forward to seeing this great encounter. Real elephants at last. Alfie would be so thrilled.
    I was pushing the big pram with the toddlers in, while the older ones forged ahead with Mike. We followed the signposts and soon we approached the entrance to the elephant enclosure. Mike and
the children waited outside, with Alfie jumping up and down in anticipation, while I caught up with them and we all went through together. When we reached the end of the path, we stood alongside
the enclosure and looked.
    ‘Where are they?’ shrieked Alfie in his high-pitched voice, looking straight ahead. ‘Where are they?’
    ‘They’re here,’ said Mike, pointing forwards.
    Alfie looked confused. ‘Where?’
    ‘There they are.’ Mike pointed again, gradually taking his finger upwards.
    Alfie followed Mike’s finger as he gazed up and up and up . . . He gasped, then stiffened, as if struck by lightning, and then he ran. He was gone – disappeared. He was petrified,
poor boy. Somebody must have been opening the gate and he just ran straight through and as far away as he could.
    ‘You’ll have to go after him,’ I said in panic. ‘I’ll keep the kids here. You go and find him.’
    So Mike went off in pursuit of the boy who loved elephants . . . as long as they weren’t real. Finally he tracked him down, at the ticket office, cuddling Ellie as the tears poured down
his face.
    On the way back in the car, everyone was rather subdued, Alfie most of all.
    ‘Were the real elephants too big, Alfie?’ asked Daisy, in her kindest voice. She was always good with children in distress, whatever their ages.
    ‘Yes,’ he gulped.
    ‘But we told you they were big,’ said Mike.
    ‘And I showed you pictures of how big they are,’ I added. ‘Do you remember, in that book? There was a