Once upon a time,
Far,
Far away,
There lived a little elephant named Jojo.
One beautiful morning,
Jojo woke up all snuggled in,
Curled up between his little papa and his little mama.
The sun gently tickled his forehead,
And Jojo slowly opened his eyes.
He could see the wind dancing in the trees.
He tried to wake his papa,
Then his mama,
But they were sleeping very,
Very deeply.
Jojo,
However,
Was more than ready to start his day.
So the little elephant stood up on his four little elephant feet and decided to go and visit his friends.
He followed the small dirt path in front of him.
He knew it very well.
He walked on it every single day.
Under his feet,
He could feel the earth,
A few leaves,
And tiny pine needles.
Jojo loved their smell.
It smelled like the freshness of the morning.
It smelled like adventure.
After a few steps,
He spotted his friend Simeon the butterfly.
Simeon,
As always,
Was busy sipping nectar from a beautiful flower.
It was covered in petals of every flower color you could imagine.
Red,
Pink,
Orange,
Blue,
Purple,
And even a little bit of gold.
Simeon invited Jojo to come and look at the flowers.
Together,
They started counting the petals.
One,
Two,
Three,
Seven.
Oh,
How beautiful they were.
Watching flowers together was one of Jojo and Simeon's favorite things.
After a while,
Jojo felt the call of new horizons,
So Simeon did what he always did.
He fluttered all around his friend,
And off they went together.
Jojo walked with tiny elephant steps.
One step,
Then another,
Then another,
Then another.
Sunbeams slipped through the pine forest and landed softly on his strong,
Wrinkled skin as he crossed the trees.
Little by little,
The ground began to change beneath his feet.
It became softer,
Warmer,
More golden.
This dirt path was turning into sand,
And the pine forest was slowly becoming a beach.
Jojo looked around him.
Tall palm trees,
Pretty seashells,
Coconuts,
And far away,
The ocean.
The sea was calling him with its waves.
Jojo loved the feeling of warm sand gently swallowing his feet.
He walked all the way to the shore and watched the waves kiss the beach.
Whenever Jojo felt a little sad,
He came here to watch the waves dance around his feet.
Suddenly,
Something appeared on the surface of the water.
Jojo squinted in the sunlight and smiled.
It was his friend Aglaé the turtle.
He was so happy to see her.
It had been quite a while.
Aglaé lifted her little head and invited Jojo to join her.
Jojo,
Who was a very good swimmer like most elephants,
Invited Simeon to rest on top of his forehead and jumped in the water.
And off they went for a long,
Long swim.
Jojo loved the ocean.
In the salty water,
He felt light.
He floated so easily.
The coolness on his thick skin felt wonderfully soothing.
The three friends played and swam for a long,
Long time,
Until Jojo began to feel tired.
So he decided to return to the shore to rest.
He waved goodbye to Aglaé and walked back to the beach with his little butterfly friend.
Once on the sand,
Jojo shook himself right to left and left to right.
Tiny drops of water were flying off his skin.
Jojo decided to look for a shady place to take a little nap.
As he walked along the beach,
He noticed a big rock in the distance.
A very,
Very big rock.
Perfect,
He thought.
A bit of shade,
A bit of sun.
So he walked closer and laid down against the rock.
But the rock began to move.
And all of a sudden,
The rock turned around.
And Jojo suddenly realized that this enormous rock was actually his grandfather taking a sweet little nap in the sun.
What luck!
Grandpa Elephant opened his arm to make a little space.
Jojo snuggled up against him,
While Simeon lay softly on Jojo's forehead.
The little elephant closed his eyes and let the sun gently caress his skin.
The warmth first settled on the top of his head.
Jojo felt calm,
Safe,
Surrounded.
He could hear the waves in the distance.
Their soft,
Back and forth rhythm,
Rocking the air around him.
The warmth slowly started to travel over his forehead,
His eyes,
His body.
His cheeks.
His nose.
His mouth.
And his little elephant ears.
Then the warmth of the sun started to slide down his neck.
Across his shoulders.
His chest.
His belly.
All along his back.
Jojo's breath became slow and deep.
And with every inhale,
The waves seemed to come closer.
And with every exhale,
They moved away again.
As if Jojo were breathing with the ocean.
The warmth continued down each of his legs,
Making them heavier and calmer.
Resting deeply in the warm sand.
Jojo felt his belly rise and fall with every breath.
Now he was completely still.
Peaceful.
Relaxed.
The sun.
The wind.
The waves.
Wrapped in a cocoon of softness.
From the tips of his feet to the top of his head.
Warm.
Heavy.
And safe.
Our little elephant fell asleep.
And dreamed of new adventures in his far,
Far away land.
Surrounded by his friends.
