William was super excited today! He was going to the circus, and he loved the circus – all the animals and the performers.
At eight o’clock, William and his parents arrived at the large red-and-white striped circus tent.
The ringmaster shouted with his enormous booming voice: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!”
Then the lights at the top of the tent came on, and William saw a man and a woman dressed in glittering clothes balancing on a huge swing. They flew through the air. “Ooooh!” the crowd exclaimed every time they flew. It was very, very exciting.
A door opened, and the lions jumped into the ring – there were six of them, all looking big, fierce, and dangerous. The man in the middle was the lion tamer. William watched as he put his head in the mouth of the largest lion. “Ooooh!” the crowd shouted in horror and amazement.
After the lions came the clowns. They were wearing colorful clothes – blue and yellow and red with green spots. They had red noses, painted faces, and funny red hair. They fell down, told lots of jokes, and did many very silly things. “Ha, ha, ha!” the people laughed – and William laughed too.
Finally, the elephants came into the ring – there were three huge gray elephants and one smaller one. The small one balanced on one leg and did many tricks.
Then it stopped and looked up at William. “Hi,” William said to the elephant. “I’m William.” “My name is Minny,” the elephant replied, much to William’s surprise.
Then suddenly, the little elephant turned and ran towards the tent’s exit. It ran out of the tent, into the street, and into the city. All the people hurried out of the circus tent, screaming: “Aagh! The elephant – it has escaped!”
“Help!” shouted the ringmaster. “The elephant Minny has escaped!”
Minny was a very happy elephant. It was the first time she had been out of the circus! It felt good to be free!
She ran down the main street towards the central square. She saw the fountain in the middle of the square. She jumped into the large fountain and sat in the water.
People tried to pass by, but Minny sprayed water on them using her enormous trunk! “Oh, this is much more fun than the circus!” shouted Minny.
After a while, Minny decided to explore the city. She walked down the street and into the big supermarket. All the people who saw Minny ran screaming out of the supermarket! Minny was having a great time – she treated herself to bananas and a big chocolate cake, ten packs of cookies, and a large number of buns.
When she was finished eating, Minny decided to explore again, so she went out onto the street. In the distance, Minny saw a large house, but there was something strange about it – there were red lights around it.
Minny got closer to the house and heard people inside shouting and screaming. “Help!” they shouted. “Save us!”
Minny hurried into the garden across from the house. There was a large pond with lots of water. She put her trunk into the water and sucked in as much water as she could. Then she rushed over to the house and sprayed the house with water. She did this many times, and the flames and fire died down.
From the top window, Minny could see a little boy. He opened the window, and Minny took him out of the house using her trunk.
“Minny!” he shouted. “It’s me!” “Hi, William,” said the elephant. “You saved me!” William shouted. “You are the bravest elephant in the whole world!”
William’s mom and dad came rushing out of the house. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing! William was safe, and their house was safe – all thanks to an elephant.
The next day, all the townspeople gathered outside the town hall. They gave the elephant Minny a special medal. William rode around the square on Minny’s back, waving and smiling at all the people.
They slowly walked back to the circus to rejoin the other elephants. Minny was so happy that she would never want to escape from the circus again.
