Deep, deep in the Congo Rainforest of Africa lived a herd of elephants. They would always do activities together because it was so much fun! BUT…they had a little problem. STOMPY!
Stompy, their baby elephant was not always happy spending quality time together with her parents and older sister. She wanted to do things HER WAY and by HERSELF! She didn’t like the rules her parents set up.
Whenever mama elephant said no, Stompy rolled her eyes, stomped her feet and frowned. She was good at frowning and even better at stomping!
When she was angry she would stomp off to her secret hideout near the waterfall. Sometimes she would trumpet or rumble loudly!
“I’m sick of the rules!” She rumbled, “I wish there were no rules in this forest ever. Rules are so dumb and silly!”
As she got older, her stomping became stronger and louder. So did her trumpeting, rumpling, roaring and ear flapping.
Stompy wanted to explore places that her parents had said that she wasn’t allowed to visit – but every time her parents said “NO” she would stomp out into the rainforest crying and roaring, trumpeting and rumbling. It didn’t happen once; it happened ALL the time and almost EVERY DAY.
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP!
“Here we go again!” Older sister would say running off in the opposite direction. It was not fun being around Stompy when she was in one of her moods.
Early one morning, Stompy decided to get up early and explore the rainforest all by herself. She went as quiet as she could so that mama, papa and sister elephant wouldn’t wake up. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she ventured into the dark forest… alone.
Slowly she followed the trail until a faint light started flickering through the trees. The trees were so big and dark – they were a little scary. But Stompy didn’t care – she just wanted to explore.
As the sunlight got brighter, Stompy got braver and she started running free through thick trees.
Under thick vines she went, into muddy puddles she splashed and under canopies she ran.
She couldn’t believe how beautiful the rainforest was. Massive wild colourful flowers danced from every angle. Their scent was spicy, strong and delicious.
She was in paradise!
She looked around.
No rules. No sister. No mama or papa. No bedtime. YIPPEE!
She was free at last!
In the distance she heard a lion roar.
RRRRRoaRRRR
A big bird flew by,
SKRAAA
Suddenly she felt something long, warm and slimy slithering near her feet.
SISSSS
SNAKE! Stompy didn’t wait, she bolted!
Finally, gasping for breath, she stopped to rest – her stomach grumbled. She was starving. She sniffed the air and smelled something scrumptious.
SNIFF, SNIFF, SNIFF
Wild berries!
She absolutely loved berries.
Slowly she followed the scent until she saw a place covered in thick mist. It looked like smoke. Should she risk going through the thick blanket of whiteness?
YES!
She was brave and alone and NO ONE could tell her, NO!
Cautiously, just in case there was a cliff or something dangerous on the other side, she walked in.
It seems that she had walked for a long time, but suddenly as the mist faded she saw a bush with luscious, succulent wild berries. She ran and gobbled them hungrily.
YUM, YUMMY, YUM! She munched.
Soon she was so full that she decided to sleep the fullness away.
Suddenly something startled her awake and her heart started thumping. She couldn’t see anything but she could hear paws crunching the dried leaves on the ground.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH
The noise was coming CLOSER and CLOSER and CLOSER.
Stompy was terrified, she could hear the noise, but couldn’t see anything. She looked and looked and then suddenly spotted the movement of yellow and black spots.
LEOPARD!
As soon as the leopard saw that she had spotted him, he jumped from behind the bush and leaped into the air ready to attack her.
Petrified Stompy started running.
RRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
The leopard was close behind.
His super sharp, retractable claws ready to attack her.
Stompy couldn’t stop, she couldn’t breathe, her skin hurt from the scrapes of the branches. She was tired. She couldn’t go on.
She could feel the leopard’s breath near her tail and his claws scratching her skin.
AHHHHHHHH!
All of a sudden the ground under her became slippery, squishy and cold.
Oh no!
A MUD PIT!
Terror shook Stompy – She tried to get out but it was too slippery. She was trapped and the leopard was still lurking around and trying to attack her with his claw.
The leopard couldn’t reach her, but, he stayed close by staring and growling.
RRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
Feeling helpless and very alone, Stompy started sobbing. She wished she had never sneaked away from home.
She wished her parents were there to help her.
Then an idea popped into her mind. She remembered something her papa and mama elephant had always told her – they said that God was always looking after her.
“He will come to your rescue when you need too.” Her sister had said.
Stompy needed God’s help right now!
“Dear God, I’m so sorry for disobeying mum and dad and for not listening and ignoring their rules. Please God help me!”
Soon after she finished her prayer, the leopard that was looking at her, fled. To her relief she heard mama, papa and sister stomping, trumpeting and roaring to her rescue.
Stompy was so thrilled to see them that she trumpeted loudly and her ears flapped happily, “THANK YOU GOD!”
Strong papa elephant stretched his trunk and tried to pull her out, but she was slippery, mama elephant joined papa elephant and together they finally got her out of the slushy, gluey, smelley pit.
After many cheerful trumpeting and cuddles, Stompy asked how they found her.
“When we didn’t find you close by,” Papa Elephant said, “We knew you had come to the deep of the rainforest.
“We are so happy that you are safe and sound.” Mama elephant whispered giving her one more kiss.
Stompy hung her head, “I’m sorry for disobeying you. Really, really sorry.”
Trotting back home with her parents at her side, Stompy kept looking back at the dark rainforest she was leaving behind, the unfamiliar animal noises fading in the distance. It felt good to be safe, even if she had scratches and bruises!
REMEMBER:
God has given us something called The Ten Commandments. They are the rules that God gave to Moses a long time ago. More than 1,500 years ago! God left those rules so that we could be happy. You should read them out loud with mum or dad or grandma or grandpa. You can find God’s rules in Exodus 20.
Remember also to always listen to and obey mum and dad, even if you don’t like their rules. We don’t want to be like Stompy the little elephant, right?
5 facts about elephants
Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. They can weigh up to 10,886kg and can grow to a height of 3.96 meters.
Though an elephant’s skin is an inch thick, they can get sunburned and to avoid that, elephants use sand for protection
Elephants are the ONLY Mammal that can’t jump
An adult elephant requires up to 300kilos of food and 160 litres of water per day.
Elephants have the best sense of smell in the animal kingdom. They can smell water from a distance of 12 miles and can detect rain from 150 miles away.
