Bob Elephant lived on a giant game reserve in Africa. Here, the animals roamed in their habitat while people were shown through the park by guides.

 Bob Elephant got so used to cameras, land rovers and the people that they were part of everyday life. He didn't bother anyone and no one bothered him. Nick Cheetah, however, never got used to the vehicles stopping and people staring and saying, "Oh! Look at the cheetah!" Most of the time, he would turn his back to the whirling cameras.

 It was a scorching day and the people were fanning themselves and putting on sunscreen. Watching from a clump of bushes, Nick Cheetah could see a particular man was hanging out the window watching Bob Elephant. Nick Cheetah saw that the man's eyes were not full of amazement, but of something Nick Cheetah couldn't figure out. He didn't like those eyes, or that man, and Nick Cheetah never forgot a face.

 A week later, the cheetah was near Bob Elephant on another scorching day. The park had been closed this week while crews were fixing a bridge that stretched over a gully on the west side. It had been a peaceful week until Nick Cheetah saw a Jeep approaching from a direction not travelled by the guides. There was no reason for this Jeep to be speeding across the mud-packed ground toward the elephant. Stopping in a cloud of dust, a man jumped out with a rifle. Nick Cheetah hadn't seen a rifle for a long time, but he remembered instantly, and also that face. It was the man who had been staring at Bob Elephant from one of the guide's vehicles.

 Nick Cheetah remembered with a shudder of disgust how poachers killed elephants for their ivory tusks. The poacher was now loading his rifle to point at Bob Elephant.

 Bob Elephant wasn't paying any attention to the man. He was daydreaming about going to the lake, filling his trunk with water, spraying his back and rolling in the mud.

 Nick Cheetah sprang into action. A cheetah is one of the fastest cats in the world and he covered the space between himself and Bob Elephant in a flash. Bob Elephant snapped out of his daydream and charged across the plain. He let out a frightened blare from his trunk.

 Seeing that Bob Elephant was a safe distance away, Nick Cheetah slammed into the alarm button used at various locations as a 911 signal that a guide vehicle had broken down. A large wail sounded and the stunned poacher dashed for his Jeep with Nick Cheetah in pursuit. The cheetah landed both paws on the side door and opened his jaws. The poacher nervously dropped his keys and covered his head. Vehicles came from three directions with park security that captured the poacher. Nick Cheetah sauntered off to tell Bob Elephant what had happened as cameras whirled by security officers to record the event.

 Winner: Hannah Mailman of Branch LaHave received a prize in the mail for sending in the answer to Storytime.

 Question about the story: How did the cheetah save the elephant?

 Send answers to Storytime c/o Verna Dunlop, RR#1 Moser River, NS B0J 2K0 or e-mail the answer to the question to vernadunlop@yahoo.com. Prizes will be sent to those sending in the answer.

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posted on 09/07/10