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When Sadie was a young calf, her elders told her not to wander off alone. “The world can be a dangerous place,” her mother said. Her father explained that the animals who walk upright on two legs are called men. Her grandmother, looked deeply into Sadie’s eyes and said “Men are to be avoided because they will hurt you.” Touching Sadie’s trunk with tenderness, her uncle whispered, “Stay close to your family.”
One day, while her family slept, Sadie wandered off. She was awestruck by the beauty of the world away from home. She saw grassy hills as far as the eye could see. She saw beautiful wildflowers as colorful as a rainbow. She wandered so far that she became lost.
As she was trying to find her way home, the men that her elders warned her of approached. They were making odd sounds that she had never heard before. One of the men poked her with something that sent shock waves through her body. The other man put something behind her ear. It tore at her skin and she screamed out and shivered in pain. The men took Sadie far away from her home. They forced her to learn strange tricks. Men watched and cheered as she balanced on her front legs and the men performed air flips on her back. Sadie toiled in the circus for thirty years but she never forgot her family. She longed to see them.
One night, after the men drank their bitter-smelling brew, they fell into a deep sleep. Sadie escaped the horrors. Once again, Sadie was lost, alone, and enormously frightened. She wailed and wept as she remembered the games she and her family played at the watering hole.
As she searched the land to reunite with her family, she came upon an abandoned boy with an injured leg. The boy was frightened by Sadie's immense size. Sadie offered to carry him and used her trunk to gently lift the boy upon her back. The weary boy felt a great comfort as he lay upon Sadie's broad back. She went in search of herbs to heal the boy's leg. Sadie found her family's watering hole. Sadie was elated. The watering hole was plush with tall trees and thick grass surrounding it. They remained there as the boy’s leg healed. Sadie taught the boy to swim, forage for food, and helped him build a shelter.
One day as they were noisily playing in the water, three burly men from the circus appeared. They captured Sadie and roughly took the boy into their possession. The wizened ringmaster, knowing the boy was hungry and alone, said to him,“ I will feed and care for you, but I need you to do something for me in return. You must punish Sadie for running away."
In the middle of the arena, the boy was surrounded by animals, clowns, trapeze artists, and jugglers. He slowly took the weathered bullhook from the ringmaster and approached a solemn Sadie. Now in front of Sadie, who had cared for him in his loneliness and need, he felt the love and connection of family. He threw the bullhook down and embraced Sadie.
The ringmaster, shocked by the boy's action, called the boy to him. The boy said to him, “ When I was hurt and alone, my friend saved me. She helped me heal and gave me shelter.” The ringmaster's callous heart softened. He allowed Sadie and the boy to leave.
Rather than return to the watering hole, Sadie and the boy decided to search for her family. They knew that thirty years was a long time but they still had hope. They searched for miles with no luck. Dejected, they decided to return to the watering hole. As they approached home, the sound of splashing and laughter erupted from the watering hole. Sadie immediately knew it was her family. She screamed and joyfully ran to them.
Sadie’s mother ran to her with tears in her eyes. They wrapped their trunks together and leaned into each other so close that it felt as if they were one. In a gentle rumble, Sadie’s father explained to her that the heartbreak of losing her drove them to leave. “ We missed home. Even with the pain of our loss, we remembered the good times we had here as a family. We decided to return to the place where we were happy,” he said.
As Sadie’s uncle slowly approached her, he noticed the boy behind a stand of trees. He trumpeted a warning to the family, “A man is nearby.” Sadie's family scrambled to guard her and themselves but Sadie turned and ran to the boy. Her mother, confused and scared, yelled, “Stop, Sadie!” Sadie explained to the elders, “This boy and I saved each other. He is a man but I care for him as I do my own family."
Sadie’s family agreed to let the boy stay with them at the watering hole. He became part of the family and they all lived together happily ever after.
Author's Note : I took a different approach to Androcles and the Lion. In the original story, the lion was injured and received help from a man who escaped slavery. The lion took Androcles to his cave, fed him, and kept him safe. They became friends, but were eventually captured and Androcles was sentenced to be thrown to the lion after he had been without food for days. They were released after the emperor noticed the friendship between Androcles and the lion. My retelling of the story is about a circus elephant and her fight to find her way home. On her way to find her family, she meets an injured boy, they eventually become friends. My original retelling did not include much information about Sadie. I did not explain how she became a circus elephant, or how she escaped. The original ending only had them set off to find Sadie's family. Elephants have wonderful memories. When Sadie's family saw her for the first time in 50 years, I wanted to make sure they didn't forget her. My first version included the cruelty circus animals face, I made sure to keep that.
Bibliography: "Androcles and the Lion" from Aesop's Fables
Here is a link to a story that helped inspire me to write about elephants
Link to original folktale : Androcles and the Lion
Image Source Boy and Elephant
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