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Kenny, the Elephant lay on the floor reading a book.
More than anything in the world he loved to read. He read books about
dinosaurs. He read books about birds and he even read books about how to
grow flowers.
One evening Kenny's mum came to his room and knocked on
the door. "Kenny," she said, "you spend too much time in your room.
Tomorrow I want you to go out and practice moving logs and spraying water.
You're not eating your peanuts and hay."
Kenny lay in bed all night wide awake. He did not want to play outside.
The next day he lay on his floor reading a book, How To
Manage Your Memory. His mum knocked on the door. "Time to go out and play,
Kenny."
Kenny put the book down. "Aw, Mum. I don't want to
carry logs and I don't want to spray water!"
His mum frowned. "Kenny, out with you!"
Dragging his trunk on the ground, Kenny went outside.
He picked up a log and dropped it on the pile. He picked up another, but
instead of carrying it to the pile, he dropped it on his foot. "Ouch! I
don't want to carry logs."
He saw his mum watching him out the window. Knowing
that she was looking, he had no choice but to wade into the lake. He stood
in the water, all the way up to his knees. He filled his trunk and blew
the spray high into the sky. It fell all around him."I don't want to spray
water." Kenny sat down in the lake and cried.
His mum saw Kenny's tears. She went to the door and
opened it wide. "Kenny, you can come home."
Kenny ran into the house and hugged his mum.
"I know you love to read. You don't have to carry logs
or spray water if you don't want to." She kissed her son on top of his
head. "You can go to your room and read your books, but you must eat your
peanuts."
Kenny smiled. He ran to his room, sat on the floor,
gobbled down a trunk full of peanuts, and read his favorite book until the
sun went down.
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