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Elmer Takes Off
By David McKee
It was a very, very windy day. Elmer, the patchwork elephant, was sheltering in a cave with his elephant friends, some birds, and Cousin Wilbur, who was playing tricks with his voice. The elephants laughed when Wilbur made his voice come from a hole at the back of the cave.
All Morning long the wind howled.
“It’s not a good day for flying,” said a bird.
“It’s a good day to be a heavy elephant,” said Elmer. “An elephant can’t be blown away.”
“I bet even you are afraid to go out in this wind, Elmer,” said the bird.
“Afraid?” said Elmer. “Not me! Come on, Wilbur.”
“Come back! Don’t be silly!” called the elephants.
But Elmer and Wilbur had already gone out into the wind.
When they were behind some trees and out of sight, Elmer led the way into another cave.
“You’re up to something, Elmer,” said Wilbur.
Elmer laughed. “Let’s play a trick,” he said.
“Make your voice come from outside, as if we were still walking away. Sound Like me sometimes.”
“I get it,” said Wilbur. He made his vice come from the distance. “It’s hard to move in this wind,” he said, sounding like Elmer. Then sounding like himself, he called, “Careful, Elmer! Hold on!”
The elephants hear the voices and began to worry.
“Hold on to something, Elmer!” Wilbur called. “Look out!”
“HELP!” came Elmer’s voice. “HELP! I’m flying!”
“ELMER, COME BACK!” came Wilbur’s voice. “OH, HELP! HELP!”
“Elmer’s being blown away,” said an elephant. “We must help.”
“If you go out, you’ll be blown away too,” said the bird.
“Form a chain,” said another elephant, “trunks holding tails.”
The elephants crept out of the cave, each holding on to the tail of the elephant in front.
“Look at them,” said Elmer, laughing. “They look so funny.”
“Go back,” teased Wilbur. “You’ll be blown away!”
The elephants all began to speak at once. “We’ve been fooled!” “It’s an Elmer and Wilbur trick!” Then they backed into their cave, looking funnier than ever.
When Elmer and Wilbur and all the elephants were safely back in the cave, everyone enjoyed the joke.
“That was very funny, Elmer,” said the bird. “But you really could have been blown away, you know.”
“Really, Bird,” said Elmer, “an elephant can’t blow away. I’ll walk to those trees and back to prove it.”
“He’s up to another trick,” said an elephant as Elmer walked away.
They all watched as Elmer disappeared behind some trees.
Then they heard Elmer’s voice calling, “Help! I can’t keep my feet on the ground!”
The elephants laughed. “Very funny, Wilbur,” they said.
“HELP!” the voice called again. “I’M FLYING!”
The elephants laughed louder than ever.
“It’s not me this time,” said Wilbur.
“Look!” said the bird. “It isn’t Wilbur!”
The elephants stared. There was Elmer, high above the trees.
“What’s he doing up there?” gasped an elephant.
“It’s called flying,” said the bird.
“Poor Elmer,” said an elephant.
It’s my ears, thought Elmer. They’re acting like wings. How will I ever get down?
Wilbur and the others looked very small as Elmer flew off into the distance.
But after a while, Elmer began to enjoy himself. He looked down at all the other animal sheltering from the wind. They were all staring up at him, surprised to see an elephant fly by.
“It’s Elmer,” said a lion, “up to another of his trick.”
At last the wind died down and Elmer landed.
Oh, dear, he thought. It’s going to be a long walk home. It serves me right for being so silly.
And he set off to find home.
Meanwhile, the birds and the elephants had set off to find Elmer.
“He’s over here!” called the birds, and everyone rushed to meet Elmer and hear about his adventure.
“You were wrong, Elmer,” said the bird. “An elephant can be blown away.”
Elmer laughed. “And you were wrong, too, Bird,” he said. “It was a lovely day for flying!”
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发表于 2005-5-18 16:15:53
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