The Lonely Elephant

Far away lives an Elephant in the jungle. This Elephant smiles and loves to run and play. This Elephant's name is Thumpy. Thumpy has big ears and a trunk for a nose. Thumpy is no ordinary Elephant.

• Roll around
• Jump back and forth
• Stand on one leg and balance
• Swing his trunk and trumpet
• Run like a Crazy Elephant!

Thumpy likes to play his games, but it was no fun playing alone. So he decided to find others who like to play soccer, too.

• Thumpy began to skip and laugh while looking for other animal friends in the jungle
• BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! — the sounds of his very large feet pounding on the ground!
• Thumpy swings his trunk and trumpets!

Thumpy wasn't a scaredy cat. He was running along when he saw a group of Panda Bears playing with their soccer balls.

• The Pandas were using the tops of their paws to dribble and kick it
• The Pandas were rolling the ball through their legs with their front paws
• The Pandas were holding the ball between their back paws and jumping

Thumpy ran to the Pandas, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! and said, "That looks like great fun, may I join you and be your friend?" "NO WAY" said the Pandas, "You are too big and scary to be our friend. Please go away!"

As Thumpy runs in the jungle with a soccer ball, he bounces it on parts of the body. Thumpy likes to:

• Bounce it on the thigh, let it drop, and run with it
• Bounce it on the chest, let it drop, and run with it
• Kick it with the foot from hands and run with it
• Little throws and catches, try it running
• Throw the ball in the air, let it bounce and catch it
• Bounce it hard on ground and catch it

After a while Thumpy comes across a group of Monkeys playing. The Monkeys were:

• Carrying the ball and bouncing it
• Kicking a ball and jumping over rocks
• Carrying the ball in hands and bouncing it
• Running around like Wild Monkeys
• Throwing a ball high into the air!

Thumpy jumped up and down and ran toward the Monkeys. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! "You look like you are having great fun, may I join you?" said Thumpy. "NO," said the Monkeys as they jumped up and down. "You are too big, loud, and scary to play with us. Please Go!"

Thumpy hung his head and walked back into the jungle. Thumpy thought about it and decided he wasn't going to allow Monkeys to keep him down. He was soon skipping through the jungle again. He came across a group of Jungle Cats playing!

• The Jungle Cats were rolling a ball with the bottom of their paws — Forward, Backward, and Sideways

The Elephant charged up to the Jungle Cats BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! and said, "That looks like fun, may I be your friend and play with you?" "NO WAY" said the Cats as they ran away, "You are too big and scary to play with us." Thumpy again hung his head and walked away.

This time, Thumpy's trunk dragged on the ground as he walked back into the jungle. Maybe he was too different to play with the other animals he thought. As Thumpy walked away he heard lots of loud GROWLS coming from the jungle. Thumpy turned and ran towards the sounds. He came around a corner and found... All the Animals were surrounded by a large group of toothy Alligators! "GRRRRRRR," growled the Alligators! "OH My," yelled the Animals.

Thumpy immediately charged the Alligators! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The Alligator's eyes got big at the sight and sounds of the Elephant charging at them. They looked at each other and quickly ran for the safety of the nearby pond. All of the scared Animals watched in amazement as the frightened Alligators slithered away.

The Animals stared at Thumpy as he slowly turned to walk back into the jungle. One of the Monkeys stepped forward and kicked a ball to Thumpy and said, "Where are you going? Would you like to play soccer with us?" Thumpy turned, smiled and kicked the ball back. All the Animals cheered and shouted "Let's Play Soccer!"