“So Num- Num decided to move far away, 

To a place where no elephants go. 

He trudged through the dust and the heat of the plains, 

His head and his tail hanging low.”

 

 

“But soon, because Num- Num was GENTLE and KIND, 

And was blessed with a GENEROUS SOUL.

Lions and zebra, giraffes and gazelle 

Came and shared his new watering hole.”

 

 

“Then one day, a warthog asked,                                   

‘Why are you here?’

 So Num- Num explained what occurred.

‘That’s nonsense,’  a crocodile swiftly replied 

and his friends all agreed, That’s absurd!”

 

 

“‘You’re good at all sorts of things. Really, you are! 

You’re FRIENDLY, you’re KIND, and you’re TRUE. 

“Out of all the animals here on these plains,

There’s only one… only one YOU!’”

 

 

“Come, follow me, Num- Num’ the crocodile said, 

‘Let’s take you back where you belong.

 and tell Mr. Elephant Thingumajig

That he’s not only foolish, but wrong.’”

 

 

“The animals led Num- Num back to his home,

where Elephant Mighty held sway.

‘Excuse me, Your Highness said Num- Num, ‘It’s me, 

And this time I’ve got something to say.’ “

 

 

“He cleared his throat nervously, took a deep breath

then looked up as brave as can be.

‘I’ll tell you my Elephant Name,’ Num- Num said,

‘I want to be ELEPHANT ME.’”

 

 

“‘You want to be ELEPHANT ME? sneered the King,

With a haughty and arrogant snort.

‘There’s nothing about it that says what you DO 

That’s a really RIDICULOUS thought.’”

 

“’It’s not,’ Num- Num said, ‘because that’s who I am.

 I may not be noisy or tough, 

But the hardest thing sometimes is just to be YOU

and to know being YOU is ENOUGH.’”

 

 

 

Source (1)

 

 

“To all the creatures’ astonished surprise,

The King didn’t bellow or shout.

No, Elephant Mighty had started to WEEP,

And a long, lonely waii came out.”

 

 

“‘You’re right ,’ cried the Monarch, It’s hard to be YOU,

and guess what?, it’s hard to be ME!

I’m tired of being Elephant Mighty all day. 

I want to be ELEPHANT FREE!’”

 

 

“‘I’m longing to do all those things that I can’t… 

That a King‘s not expected to do.

Like DANCING all night beneath only the stars,

With my feet getting wet in the Dew!’”

 

 

“‘Who cares about all these ridiculous names? 

No, what’s more important by far, 

Is just to be true to ourselves every day,

And content with… WHOEVER WE ARE.’”

 

 

“‘ELEPHANT ME! What a wonderful thing!

 Now, whenever we see there’s a chance, 

Let’s celebrate ME-NESS with all of our hearts,

And right now, I see stars… so let’s DANCE!”

 

 

“thanks for listening

see you next time.”

 

Images and transcribed from: FULL COPYRIGHT BELONGS TO ILLUSTRATOR GUY PARKER REESE & AUTHOR GILES ANDRE from cc video  “”Elephant Me – Reading Children’s Books  (1)

 

Source:

(1) https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ELEPHANT+ME+by+Giles+Andreae+Creative+Commons

 

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