Stop Poaching! By Stefani

In the morning, it was quiet. The giraffes eat from the trees, pulling the leaves into their mouths. The restless trees swing back and forth in the breeze. It was beautiful, and the elephants were happy and proud.

BOOM!

An automatic gun exploded. The oldest male elephant fell immediately to the dusty ground. As he fell, he made a trumpeting sound. It sounded like a scream, as if he was begging for help. All the elephants left, stomping towards the forest for shelter. When the dust cleared, two elephants remained. One was a baby, and she was standing with her mom. Then, they heard the poachers screaming about their successful hunt. Both elephants hid behind a big bush because they sensed that if the hunters caught sight of them, they would die. After the hunters left with their prize, the baby elephant dashed to the male elephant and soon enough the baby realized that he had only two elephants left in his family: his mom and him. Soon enough, tear drops began to appear on both elephants' cheeks. It was as if they were crying, "Why? Why me!"
The mother elephant lifted her right foot carefully towards the male, then started to pat his tummy as gently as a feather. While the female was doing that the baby began to do a similar act, but instead of the foot he did it with his trunk. Both elephants stayed with the dying male for three days. Before the third day ended, a jeep passed by and saw the thirsty, dry, and tired elephants. There were two people in the jeep: a boy and a women named Jenny. The women immediately turned the jeep and drove towards the elephants.

They first gave the mother elephant water. "Johnny feed milk to the baby elephant," said his mother.
After the third bottle of milk was empty, Johnny begged, "Mom can we keep him? Please?" Johnny had been lonely since they moved to Africa. He was desparate for a friend, and he thought a pet elephant might do the trick!
"Maybe. Well... it's that I don't know about your dad," she said sadly because she hated to ruin the excitement in her son.

"You try to convince him for me? Or we could give him to dad as a present maybe?" replied Johnny.
"Maybe. But first I have to call some friends at the Elephant Care Center. They would tell us what to do next. It will take them a while to get back to us," she said, trying to stop Johnny from wanting it too much or getting his hopes up.
"Mommm! That is not true; it takes one week!" whined Johnny.
"We still have a problem! You can't have it as you present because it would be a late present and your father and I need to be the first one to give you a present!" moaned his mom.
"Then my birthday will be a one week later then my real birthday!" begged Johnny.

"I told you that I don't know about your dad," she repeated that line again and again. They contacts the Elephant Care Center and helped them load the grievng elephants into the trucks to take them to safety. They didn't talk about keeping them again, and when they went back home after they left the two elephant's at the Elephant Care Center, Johnny went to his room. He sat looking out his bedroom window wondering what tomorrow would hold.

The next morning, Johnny ran down the stairs to the kitchen. "Mom? Can I go check on the mother and baby elephants?" asked Johnny kindly.

"O.K.," his mom said. She loved that he was so caring.

"Did you convince dad?" Johnny whispered, hoping that the answer would be yes.


"Not yet, but I will try when you leave. Now go! He's coming, and I don't want him to know where you're going!" She replied with the most clearest and quietest whisper that Johnny could hear.

Johnny ran to the Elephant's Care Center. When he got there he saw the mother first. He asked someone that if he could feed the mother elephant some fruit and leaves. The man looked at him for 10 seconds and then said with a deep and dark voice, "Fine with me." So Johnny kept on feeding her until she was full and content. Then she slept. Johnny watched her for a while, then he began to back away, as slowly and quietly as a piece of paper floating in gentle breeze.
It was then that Johnny realized the elephants were in a good place. They were not made to be pets, they should be together. He promised that he would come and visit every day.

One day Johnny went to the Elephant Care Center to play with the baby elephant, which they had named Tambu. While Tumbu's mom slept in the red elephant house, which was like a dog house. It was 8:00 in the morning and the sun was almost all the way up in the sky. Johnny and Tambu ran and played all morning. They played tag and Tambu shot water at Johnny. Soon it was 12:00, time for lunch. As Johnny fed Tambu his lunch, he realized they had become friends. Tambu trusted Johnny - maybe even as much as his mom, which they had named Laura! Tambu had become more than his "pet", he was his friend. He talked to his elephant as if Tambu could really talk! John happily said, "This is how Africa should be, my friend, the most peaceful place I can imagine. I am so glad I get to share it with you and your mom. I wish we could have saved your father." After that he whispered this into Tumbu's large gray ears, Tambu wrapped his trunk around Johnny as if to hug him like saying thank-you for saying that. Johnny know what that meant or at least he thought that he did. So he said to Tomb, "Your welcome." Johnny went home and announced, "I have a friend now." He expect his parents to be happy but instead they looked at him like saying do you have 110˚F? Johnny ran to his room as soon as possible.

During dinner his dad asked Johnny, "Wwhat's your friend's name?" He said with a shy and nerves because his son never had a friend. Tambu he's an elephant."

"An elephant are you crazy! it could kill you!" his dad interrupted

Johnny ran to his room and soon enough he felled asleep. During breakfast it was only Johnny and his mother.

It was all silent till Johnny said,"You didn't tell him did you?" Yelling with a lot's of anger.

"No I didn't. Sorry. It's that I'm afraid." With that said Johnny's anger went away.

"Sorry I yelled at you like that. " He felt ashamed. Johnny left for school because his dad left to work more earlier then him. After school ended, he went to visit Tambu and his mother they were taking her a bath and Tambu well was just watching with a over protected look. He would yell if they got too close or bring something that is sharp or makes a loud noise that he doesn't know. Johnny always went to play with Tambu after school and volunteer to take Tambu a bath or do something little like feed him or try to teach him how to live in the wild. Sometimes when he visited he teaches him how his entire house looks like with a quick picture of it or a drawing witch is much realistic. One day before Johnny's birthday. His mom went to wake him up at 9:00 in the morning took him outside and said, "Surprise!"

By ~ Stefani