Ella stood before a giant dusty mound in the meadow. The wind hummed through the tall grass. She had to cross it to get home.
Her trunk curled tight around her ankle. Her pink ears pressed flat against her head. Crossing the mound felt very far away.
Ella stepped onto the slope and the ground shook. 'Go back,' she thought. A tumbleweed rattled past her toes.
She took one step backward. Then another. The mound seemed to loom even taller than before.
Ella climbed higher and kicked a stone. It bounced off something hard underneath the dust. The ground began to rumble.
Ella froze. One foot still in the air. The rumbling grew louder and louder.
Ella took a deep breath. She poked the mound with her trunk. The dust burst outward!
Out popped a tiny elephant, sneezing! Ella's trunk uncurled. The baby wrapped its trunk around hers and let out a squeaky trumpet.
The squeaky trumpet shook the acacia leaves. Ella's trunk stayed wrapped around the baby's.
Ella marched home with her trunk held high. Her pink ears fluttered in the breeze.
The baby elephant stepped in her footprints. One little foot. Then another.
The meadow glowed gold around them. Ella walked on, and the baby followed.