Ella protects Blackie

One day a baby elephant, Ella, was walking in the forest, eating fruits and leaves. After he was full, he wanted to see what lay beyond the forest and so walked on for a long distance. A large pasture full of green grass came into view and Ella saw many goats grazing happily.

There were many young ones too and the kids faithfully went wherever their moms went, sometimes eating grass, but mostly drinking milk from their mothers. Ella wanted to eat some of the lush grass too, but it was too short for him to grip with his trunk and pull out of the ground.

Then, all of a sudden, a fierce storm began to pound the fields and the sky became very dark. The goats were very frightened and began to run in all directions. One baby goat, Blackie, got separated from his mother and began to cry 'Baa, baa, baa' but his mom could not hear him. Seeing this, Ella went to Blackie and said 'Little fellow, my name is Ella. Do not cry.

Come to my home and rest there till tomorrow morning and I will help you find your mom when she comes to graze here again'. So Ella and Blackie went to Ella's home in the forest which was protected from strong winds. Ella's mom made Blackie feel welcome and asked Ella and Blackie to play together.

Next morning Ella's mom gave them a breakfast of bananas and many other fruits which Blackie had never tasted before. Blackie ate them up in no time at all and said 'Ella, thank you for your kindness, but I must go back to my mom. She must be very worried that I am lost'. 'Of course, Blackie' said Ella and led him back to the pasture.

As they entered the pasture, the goatherd, Ramu, saw them and came with a big thorny stick and scolded Ella. 'You rascal' he said, 'you stole my beautiful black kid Blackie and tortured him. Poor fellow must be hungry too. You will be punished for this'.
Then he started to hit Ella furiously with his stick, so much so that poor Ella started to bleed. Every time he started to speak, Ramu got more annoyed and hit Ella even more.
Finally Ella could not take it any more and with his trunk he lifted Ramu high in the air and shook him till the stick fell off. Holding him there Ella said 'Ramu, why are you angry? Blackie was lost and I took him home so that he was safe and not attacked by wild animals like tigers. My mom gave him breakfast and he is very happy. Please ask him. If he was tortured why would he stand by my side?'

Hearing this, Ramu calmed down and asked Blackie 'Is this true?' Blackie said 'Yes, Master, Ella is a wonderful friend. If you go with him, you will also get lots of fruits to eat'.
Ramu felt ashamed at his hasty conclusion about Ella and said 'Ella, I am so sorry that I thought you harmed Blackie. I will apply medicine on your wound and promise never again to do act in haste'.

He cleaned Ella's blood and applied band-aid on the wound.
Ella then went back to his mom and Blackie to his. Ramu did not mind the friendship that started to grow between Ella and Blackie and gave Ella fruits and coconuts whenever Ella came to visit Blackie.