My beautiful little Baby MSE is now two and a half. And like many daddies, each day I look forward to the delights of sleep-time, when I get to put her to bed and tell her a story. Rather than reading them I tend to make them up about something we’ve done or talked about.
About six months ago after a trip to the zoo, I started the story of The Biggest Elephant in the World. I’ve developed and finessed it since then and it’s become her firm favourite.
Watching her grow so fast, I decided it was time to write it down for posterity, so that one day when she’s far too old for such things I could still coo and reminisce. Having done that, I thought I’d blog it, and it’d be wonderful if some other children got to enjoy it too.
I’ve laid it out like a book – I feel there should be illustrations, but that’s beyond my skill.
When I tell the story, she always joins in, her favourite bit of course being "and NOTHING scares me!"
I’m the biggest elephant in the world – and NOTHING scares me!
PAGE 1
Once upon a time there lived an elephant.
Elephants are big creatures – very big creatures – with long, grey floppy ears, and even longer grey trunks.
Yet this elephant wasn’t just big – he was huge, he was enormous, he was gargantuan. In fact, he was the biggest elephant in the whole wide world.
PAGE 2
One day whilst walking through the jungle, a lion stood in the path in front of him and growled a fierce challenge.
The elephant looked at the lion, laughed, and brushed him aside with his trunk saying:
"I’m the biggest elephant in the world, and NOTHING scares me!"
PAGE 3
The next day whilst ambling, a crocodile jumped out of the river and snapped its teeth on the elephant’s tail.
The elephant hoisted him up, and threw him back into the water, with an enormous splash, trumpeting:
"I’m the biggest elephant in the world, and NOTHING scares me!"
PAGE 4
The day after, a giant snake appeared in the middle of the road, its fangs glistening and poised to strike.
The elephant reached his trunk down, grabbed the snake and tied it into a knot, saying:
“I’m the biggest elephant in the world, and NOTHING scares me!”
PAGE 5
Not long after the struggle with the snake, the elephant heard a little noise.
First it was a "squeak", then a "squeak, squeak".
He looked around but couldn’t see anything, but the noise continued, “squeak, squeak, squeak”.
The elephant looked around and nervously said: “What is it? Where’s that coming from? I don’t like it."
PAGE 6
Soon the elephant felt a tickling on his foot, then his leg, up to his back and followed by his shoulder.
“What is it?” he said, “Stop it. I don’t like it!”
He turned his head and saw that standing there was a little fluffy white mouse.
"I’m sorry," said the mouse. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Less than convincingly, the elephant replied: "I’m the biggest elephant in the world and nothing scares me!"
PAGE 7
As the mouse was apologising, another small sound could be heard, a “buzz, buzzzzz, buzzzzzzzzzzz”.
The elephant looked around frantically, but again couldn’t see anything – and that made him very uncomfortable.
“What is it?” he said.
The mouse scanned around and said: “Oh it’s just a buzzy bee. I can see him clearly. You’re probably too big to notice.”
The elephant said: “Make it go away.”
So the mouse said to the bee: "Mr Bee, Mr Bee, would you mind going to fly somewhere else? My friend the elephant doesn’t like it.”
The bee smiled back and said: "Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I shall buzz off!”
The elephant was very impressed with the mouse and thanked him most profusely.
PAGE 8
As the mouse and the elephant were chatting, out in the road stepped a dinosaur, big and green, with sharp teeth, growling and snorting.
The mouse quivered and hid under the elephant’s ear.
Yet the elephant charged at the dinosaur, who soon jumped out of the way as it saw his huge bulk approaching, and the elephant yelled:
"I’m the biggest elephant in the world, and (almost) NOTHING scares me!"
PAGE 9
The mouse clapped and cheered and told the elephant how brave he was, to which the elephant replied: “It was nothing."
So the mouse made a suggestion: "Why don’t we travel together? If something big and scary comes along you can look after me. If it’s something little I can deal with it."
The elephant thought that a fine wheeze.
So from that day on the two travelled together and became best friends.
And together “NOTHING scared them”.
THE END
Related past blogs: 12 important questions I have for Peppa Pig.
