Chapter 1

Once upon a time on a sunny day in late autumn, many people gathered in the town square of a peaceful little town named Martinville. A beautiful water fountain stood in the middle of the square. Many different types of shops surrounded the square, including a watchmaker, a deli and bakery, a coffee shop, a barbershop, a bookstore, and even a pawnshop. To the east of the fountain a street was blocked off for a weekly farmers’ market where merchants sold all types of produce, flowers, meat, and homemade bread. The town’s children typically were drawn to the end of the street, where there was an air-blown castle and slides. Lots of townsfolk gathered at this market once a week to purchase produce and get together with friends and other families.

It was a very typical scene for any Sunday afternoon.

Suddenly, there was a loud, thundering bellow: “Aaaaaaaahhhhh!” People turned to look. Some children ran toward the direction of the noise. “Aaaaaaaahhhhh!” another identical bellow followed. The sound was shocking and unrecognizable.

Standing by a fruit stand in the middle of the panic was a slim, older man wearing a hat. Next to him sat a greyhound. The man hurriedly handed over several bills to the merchant, grabbed a number of apples, and placed them in two large cloth bags.

A crowd had already begun to gather in front of the fountain. They turned their heads, pointed their fingers, and chatted with one another in disbelief. Wading in the fountain was a huge elephant, wearing a red cape on her back and metal chains around her neck! The elephant was growing very agitated with this increasing crowd of onlookers surrounding her. As more and more townsfolk gathered, the commotion grew louder and louder. Children pointed and shouted, parents babbled and loudly criticized, babies cried; all were excited by what they were witnessing. The crowd moved in and completely surrounded the fountain and the elephant.

Then the sound of sirens appeared from a short distance. Moments later, the crowd parted to make way for the police. Hustling in through the gap were several uniformed officers, each carrying a rifle. They quickly formed a line between the townsfolk and the beast.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!” The elephant stood up on her rear legs and angrily swung her long, powerful trunk. The chains on her neck clinked and clanked, frightening the onlookers even more.

The crowd gasped and stepped backward. A man squeezed thru the crush of people with his camera and began taking photographs. A sheriff stepped out from the crowd and spoke through a megaphone, directing people to leave. His instructions seemed to only have the opposite effect, as more and more people gathered and gawked.

Suddenly, the elephant gave another sharp screech and rose up high in the air on her hind legs. She frantically waved her giant, powerful feet at the crowd. A few people in the front turned and tried to leave. Even a few of the bravest officers fell backward as they tried to steadfast their barricade, but there were simply too many people standing behind, watching in anticipation. No one could go anywhere.

Then, the elephant lunged toward the crowd. Simultaneously, the armed officers raised their rifles and aimed at the beast. “Do not fire until I give the order,” commanded the sheriff through the megaphone. The crowd grew tense as they sensed something terrible was imminent. The beast stood up high on the fountain’s ledge and bellowed, casting a large shadow that nearly swallowed the armed officers.

More photos were snapped of the astonishing scene.

The officers were terrified, but their training kept them at the ready and seemingly prepared to fire their rifles. Every officer had the elephant’s head zeroed in perfectly through their weapons’ scopes.

“Hold your fire!” ordered the sheriff, making every attempt to stay calm. Sensing the men in the crowd were hostile, the bewildered elephant bellowed again. The officers were ready to pull their triggers.

“Aim…” the sheriff called. The people in the crowd held their breath as they feared what they might see next.

Suddenly, the rising sound of barks pervaded the scene. Out of nowhere, a greyhound bolted in and landed right in front of the elephant. The dog turned and barked furiously at the officers as if demanding them to not shoot. The bewildered crowd responded with a brief silence.

“Don’t shoot the elephant! Don’t shoot!” Everyone heard someone shouting. Seconds later, the crowd parted again to let an old man through. The man pushed through the crowd and raised two large bags high in the air. “Don’t shoot the elephant!” He motioned to the officers as he walked gently toward the beast.

“Hold your fire!” the sheriff ordered. There was a sigh of relief from the crowd, as well as some of the officers. The old man slowly waved his arms up and down, gesturing the crowd to quiet down, in a concerted effort to subdue the elephant’s anxiety and fears.

Then, the old man carefully walked up and stopped nearly fifteen feet away from the elephant. Delicately, he took out an apple from one of his bags and showed it to the beast. “It’s all right,” the old man whispered gently to the elephant. “I will not let them harm you.” Tensely, their eyes engaged one another. There was complete silence; not a single sound came from the crowd as everyone watched nervously. Even the man with the camera froze as he intensely stared.

“I won’t let them hurt you,” the man repeated in his soft, low voice. “Here.” He slowly leaned forward and rolled the bright red apple toward the elephant. She retreated two short steps back into the fountain, stared at the apple as her head circled in confusion.

Then, the old man took out another apple and held it high to show to the elephant. He then brought it to his mouth and took a big, juicy bite of the fruit. He raised the apple with the juice dripping from his mouth and his hand. “See? It’s so delicious,” he said invitingly, while keeping a close eye on the elephant. He gently rolled the chewed apple toward the elephant and took a few steps backward.

The elephant looked at the man and hesitated. Then, she slowly reached with her long rubbery trunk and carefully examined the chewed apple. She turned and gazed at the man for several long seconds, making sure he was not too close. She sniffed and sniffed with the tip of her nose barely touching the fruit. She scanned her eyes over to the man again; he nodded with a smile. Then, in one quick motion, her trunk scooped up the apple and threw it into her wide-open mouth.

There were a few restrained cheers in the crowd. However, most of the spectators remained cautiously inaudible, especially the officers. They all knew that the beast could turn on them and the old man at any moment. They still had their rifles aimed at the elephant. The cameras started to click again.

The old man took another apple, gave it a huge bite, and rolled it toward the elephant once again. The elephant looked at the apple in front of the fountain, took a couple more steps forward, looked at the man, and then swooped up the apple with her trunk. Her mouth rolled the apple round and round; she appeared to enjoy the succulent fruit. The old man smiled at her. “Wasn’t that delicious?” he asked, winking.

He then rolled another apple toward her. This time it landed a bit farther than the last one. Without any hesitation, the elephant walked right out of the fountain toward the apple. She quickly grabbed the apple from the ground and ate it in one sweeping motion. The old man laughed heartily. Then he retreated a few more steps as he tossed another apple in front of the elephant. The elephant gave a gentle call and proceeded to step forward and grab the fruit.

The old man and his hound started to lead the elephant, while walking away from the fountain. The officers and the crowd slowly parted to make room for them. The old man left another apple on the ground as he headed onto the pathway. And the elephant followed.

Slowly and quietly, the man trailed apples on the ground as he walked. The elephant followed him away from the fountain area, passed through the crowd, and left the spectators behind. There were more cheers as more cameras clicked. The police officers breathed sighs of relief as they lowered their rifles from their shoulders. “Way to go, Al!” the sheriff addressed the old man, while wiping sweat from his brow. “You came just in time,” he added, under his breath.

Al continued leading the elephant away with his apples until they disappeared behind the crowd. With nothing more to see, the crowd finally began to break up. Some waved their hands excitedly as they chatted with one another; others went along their way with smiles on their faces. Murmurs of “Way to go, Al!” could be heard from the townsfolk as the crowd dissipated.

So Al, his greyhound, and the elephant plodded along as they exited the town. Many townsfolk waved goodbye to them as they passed the last few houses. They walked slowly but surely through serene country roads that meandered gently through the hills. Occasionally, Al would turn and watch the elephant as she swooped up and gobbled the apples. Butterflies danced around and birds flew high above them. Happily, the trio strolled through the countryside, toward a little farm a few miles east of the town.