Once upon a time, in a sunny part of the forest, lived Eddie the Elephant, the king of all elephants. Eddie had four big tusks and loved spending his days making sure all the animals in his herd were safe and happy.
But one day, the sun got a little too hot, and all the water in the forest started to dry up. The little elephants were so thirsty! They gathered around Eddie and said, “King Eddie, we’re so thirsty! Please help us find water.”
Eddie thought hard and then sent his fastest elephants in all directions to look for water. The ones who ran to the east found a beautiful lake named Lake of the Moon. It was filled with clear, dancing water, surrounded by lovely trees and flowers, and home to many happy ducks and swans.
They hurried back and told Eddie all about it. So, Eddie led his herd to the lake. The elephants were so excited that they rushed into the water, splashing around and drinking to their heart’s content. But, oh no! While they were having fun, they accidentally squished the homes of many little rabbits who lived by the lake.
After the elephants left, the rabbits were very upset and scared. They held a meeting to decide what to do. A smart rabbit named Ricky spoke up, “Don’t worry, I have a plan to keep them from coming back!”
Ricky the Rabbit had a bright idea. He decided to talk to Eddie the Elephant and make him believe that he was a special messenger from the Moon itself!
So, the next day, when Eddie came back to the lake, Ricky climbed up a tall pile of rocks and called out in his loudest voice, “Hello, mighty Eddie! I am Ricky, a messenger from the Moon!”
Eddie looked around, a bit confused, and asked, “What message do you bring?”
Ricky puffed up his chest and said, “The Moon is upset because you disturbed the peaceful lake. This lake is under the Moon’s protection, and you’ve harmed the little rabbits who are my friends.”
Eddie felt really sorry. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone. “Oh dear,” he said, “I didn’t know. Please tell me how to make things right.”
Ricky had a clever trick up his sleeve. He led Eddie to the lake at night and pointed to the moon’s reflection in the water. “Look! The Moon is watching us. You must promise to never disturb the lake again.”
Eddie, seeing the beautiful moon dancing in the water, was amazed and a little scared. “I promise,” he said, “we will never come back to this lake and disturb the peace.”
Ricky was very pleased. His clever plan worked! The rabbits could live safely, and the elephants found another place to drink and bathe.
