An elephant for a pet!

It all started on Tuesday. I came back from school and there it was. I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. All I saw was a huge greyish boulder sitting in my front yard. I walked up closer and then felt the earth shake. The large boulder got up and starting turning around. It was a elephant! A real life elephant. I never seen an elephant up close before, only ever in books and on the television. It started jumping up and down, thrumpeting and roaring. From that moment I called him Thumper, my best friend and pet elephant. Of course having a big elephant meant big changes in my life. The first started Friday night. My mom had a big surprise for me. We were moving to the sunny seaside town of Quinton. We needed more space for our new family member, so it made sense. I wasn't very pleased. Leaving my friends behind, my town and everything I ever known. It was a shock, a nasty shock. I hate change.
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Saturday morning, I wake up in my new home away from home. I hear the thunderous roar of Thumper, as he enjoys his new home. "Looks like someone enjoying his new home" I thought to myself. After breakfast I went out to play with Thumper for the first real time after meeting him. My parents told me the story of how Thumper was rescued from poachers in Africa and his parents were brutally killed. This makes him go extra wild when he hears loud noises or when he sees objects shaped like guns. My parents warned me to be gentle and quiet around Thumper. But on a day like this, how could I be? The wild and wacky carnival is in town! And wouldn't it be cool to turn up with an elephant? 

I grabbed a bag of peanuts from the kitchen and shouted for Thumper, so he'd follow me. We set off slowly for the carnival. As we strolled down the street, people stopped and stared. "Woah, an elephant!" Shouted a boy. People jumped out the way, cars stopped and dogs barked. I loved all the attention. It was a long walk to the carnival, so I stopped for some ice cream. While in line, I noticed a girl staring at me. I started staring back. "So, it's a staring contest you want, eh?" I thought to myself. The strange girl quickly came over and started to argue. "You disgust me! Taking a harmless creature away from its home and family..." she went on. 'Hang on, this harmless creature was in great danger! I actually saved him." I boasted. Just then I heard screams and cars horns. While we were arguing, Thumper got bored and looked like he was causing chaos around town.

Thumper stomped all over parked cars and crushed trash cans. The chaos caused was the closest thing to Godzilla we would ever see! We followed his trail of destruction leading all the way to the carnival. It looked like I didn't need a bag of peanuts to get Thumper to the carnival, he knew the whole way himself. That annoying girl from the ice cream parlour also followed me. I could not believe she was still lecturing me about elephant care. I turned to her and shouted, "who do you think you are! You probably never...". I was then interrupted by the sight of a giant elephant-shaped shadow covering the floor. I slowly turned my face to the sky, and you never guess what I saw. For such a heavy and big creature, Thumper was flying!

add_a_photoI laughed out loud, "Wow, look at that!" and then quickly realised that this was really bad. I was in deep trouble if my parents found out. I quickly grabbed the ropes hanging off Thumper to try and pull him down. And guess what? It didn't work. That annoying girl grabbed Thumper's foot, now, of course, that would never work! Before we knew it, we were like a thousand feet in the air. The people down below looked like tiny ants rushing about. 

I heard the sounds of fire sirens ringing in the distance and police cars. On one hand, I was embarrassed to be hanging onto an elephant, but on the other hand, this would make a really cool story to tell my friends back home. "My name's Katie..." that strange girl interrupted my train of thought. "My dad owns this carnival and we travel around the country performing." She went on explaining.
"That's really cool" I replied. "I always wanted to follow the carnival..." A loud pop stopped me. "Oh no, the balloons are popping!" I screamed. The weight of me, Katie and Thumper was too much for the balloons to carry. We quickly started dropping down below. The sweat on my palms, the pain in my fingers. I could no longer hold onto the ropes and I let go. I heard Katie scream, "Nooooooo!"

I opened my eyes. I looked around. I was out of breath, scared and tired. 
It was only a dream. All that and it was only a dream! No elephant, no annoying girl, no moving away from my home. Nothing. What a relief. Just then I heard the trumpeting roar of Thumper. Hold on it was all real! My parents ran into my room. "Son, you're all right! You landed in a skip filled with nothing more than manure." said my dad. 
"Nothing more than manure!" I replied. "You're telling me that some animal waste saved my life, I think I'm going to be sick!" My mom advised me afterwards that it would be better if Thumper moved away with the carnival folks, as they already own an elephant. And that was the last I heard of Thumper. I only had him for less than a week, but it was the best time of my life. And I will never forget it. And that's it. That's the best thing that happened to me over summer. So, what grade does my summer project get, miss?