Mantu the Elephant

MANTU the ELEPHANT

Chapter 1 Mantu was born under the wide open sky. His mother stroked him with her trunk. Mantu was her first baby. The other elephants all came to stroke Mantu. Then his mother helped him onto his legs, and fed him.

Mantu grew fast. The sun was strong and the land grew dry. Every day, the elephants marched across the hot, dusty land. Every day, they had to march further and further to find food and water. Mantu held onto his mother's tail with his trunk. One day the sun was very strong. "I'm so thirsty!" Mantu cried. "Don't worry," said his mother. "We'll find water. Kim, the wise old elephant, knows where to go."

At last the elephants came to water. Little Mantu was thirsty. He was so happy to see the cool, clear water that he ran to the river. He was about to jump in, but his mother chased after him and held him tightly by the tail. Kim, the oldest elephant, always went in first to look for crocodiles. "The water is safe," Kim cried.

The elephants began to drink and play in the evening light. Mantu's mother filled up her trunk and drank the clear cool water. "I want to do that," thought Mantu. Then the elephants got washed. They filled their trunks with water and sprayed their dusty backs. "Wow!" thought Mantu. "I want to do that."

But Mantu couldn't use his trunk yet. He was still too young. He could fill his trunk with water, but it fell out before he could drink it. He had to put his head under the water to drink. He wished he could use his trunk like a big elephant.