One day, a herd of elephants was crossing a river. All the elephants swam across the river except a baby elephant. Mama elephant trumpeted, “Son, come on; you can swim.” But the baby elephant was afraid that he would be drowned and started crying loudly. The fairy godmother heard him crying. She thought, ‘The baby elephant has to overcome his fear and become brave.’ An idea struck the fairy godmother and she shared her plan with the fish in the river and the birds in the sky. The fish said to the baby elephant, “Swim across, O dear; we will not let you drown.” The birds said, “Swim across, O dear; we will pull you if you get drowned.” The fish and the birds couldn’t have helped the baby elephant. But they gave confidence to the baby elephant. The baby elephant felt safe and swam across the river. He thanked the fish and the birds for their encouraging words.
The Fish and the Birds
