Once upon a time, in a sunny green jungle, there lived a big gray elephant named Ely. Ely had big floppy ears that went Flop! Flop! when he walked.
One bright morning, Ely heard tiny voices calling,"Help! Help!" He looked down and saw hundreds of little black ants marching in a line. Their leader was a small ant named Ann."Oh Ely!" cried Ann."We need to cross the big river to get sweet honey drops, but we are so tiny! The water is too splashy for us." Ely wiggled his trunk."I am big and strong! I can help!" But then he looked at the wide blue river.
It went Splash! Splash! The water looked deep and cold. Ely felt shivers in his tummy."What if I slip? What if I fall?" His big knees started to wobble. Wobble!
Wobble! Ann stood tall on a rock."Being brave means doing something even when you're scared!" Ely took one big step.
Stomp! Then another. Stomp! Splash!
Water tickled his toes."Ooooh!" he giggled."It feels like jelly!" The ants cheered,"Go Ely! Go Ely!" They marched onto Ely's back. March!
March! March! Halfway across, a fish jumped up! Splash!"Boo!" said the fish. Ely's eyes went wide."Whooooa!" His heart went thumpity-thump!"Remember," squeaked Ann,"you are brave! We believe in you!" Ely took a deep breath.
Huff! Puff! He lifted his trunk high."I AM BRAVE!" he shouted. He walked faster. Stomp! Stomp!
Stomp! They reached the other side. Yay! The ants danced on Ely's back.
Dance! Dance! Dance!"Thank you, brave Ely!" said Ann."Would you like to taste our honey drops?" Ely opened his mouth wide. Ahhhhh!
The honey drops were sweet and sticky. Mmmmmm! The ants laughed and laughed. Ha-ha-ha!
From that day on, whenever someone needed help, Ely remembered: Being brave isn't about not being scared. It's about helping friends even when your knees go wobble-wobble! Now, can you stomp your feet like brave Ely? Stomp!
Stomp! Stomp! Good job!