You Made Me Small

Elliot the elephant was a really big elephant. He was so big that he thought he was the tallest animal in the whole forest! "Look at me!" he'd trumpet, "I can reach the highest leaves on the tallest trees!" And it was true, Elliot could reach very high. He felt proud of being so tall.

One sunny morning, as Elliot was munching on some juicy leaves, he heard a rustling in the trees. Suddenly, a long, spotty neck poked through the branches, followed by even longer, spotty legs! It was Gina the giraffe, and she was so tall, she made Elliot feel… well, not quite so tall.

Gina smiled down at him. "Hello there!" she said in a gentle voice. "Those look like tasty leaves you're eating."

Elliot looked up, way up, at Gina. Her head seemed to touch the clouds! "Wow," he whispered, "you're really, really tall!"

Gina giggled. "Yes, my long legs and long neck help me reach the very tippy-top leaves that no one else can get!"

Elliot realized that even though he was a big, strong elephant, there were other animals with special ways of being tall too. He wasn't the only tallest! And that was okay. He and Gina spent the rest of the morning sharing stories about the forest, happy to be friends, no matter who was taller.