Once upon a time, in a lovely park, there lived a friendly elephant named Tara. Tara was a big, gentle elephant who loved to spend time with the children who visited her every day. The children adored Tara, and they always played around her, laughing and having fun.Tara loved it when the children climbed on her back. They would giggle as they sat on her, sliding down her side like a fun slide. What a joyful time they had together! Tara had a special friend too, a little Sparrow named Chimu. Chimu would flit around Tara, chirping sweet songs and keeping her company.
One day, Tara felt very sad. She sat quietly under a big tree, looking down at the ground. Chimu noticed and flew over. “Tara, what’s wrong? Why do you look so sad?“ she asked.Tara sighed deeply. “I don’t like my color,” she said. “Look at the other animals—they are so colorful! But I’m just grey.” Chimu thought hard, trying to come up with a way to make her friend smile again.
Then, she had a bright idea! Chimu flew over to a beautiful peacock. “Hello, Peacock! Can you help me make my friend Tara happy?” she chirped.“Of course! But how can I help?” asked the peacock. Chimu smiled and said, “By giving me some of your beautiful colors!” The peacock agreed with a nod. “Okay! Take some of my colors!” Chimu thanked the peacock and flew to a tiger next. “Can you share some of your colors with me?” she asked. The tiger happily agreed and gave her some stripes. Then, she fluttered to a butterfly and asked for colors from her wings. The butterfly giggled and shared her bright colors. Chimu even visited a zebra and a group of cute ducklings, gathering colors from everyone! With her tiny wings full of beautiful colors, Chimu flew back to Tara.
Chimu said, “Tara! Tara! Guess what I’ve brought for you! Close your eyes and stand still!”
Tara closed her eyes tightly as Chimu carefully painted her with all the lovely colors. When she was done, Chimu took Tara near the pond chirped, “Now look yourself in the water!” Tara peered into the pond. She was so surprised! “Wow! I look so pretty!” she exclaimed with joy.
Tara couldn’t wait to show her colorful new look to all her little friends. At 5 O’clock, when the children came to the park, they saw Tara and instead of running to her, they screamed, “Monster! Monster!” and ran away in fright! “Wait! Don’t go! It’s me, your friend Tara!” she called with tears in her eyes. “Please don’t go, play with me!” But the children shouted, “No! You’re not our Tara! Where is she?”
Once they left, Tara began to cry, “Wheeeenaaaa!” Chimu, who had been watching from a nearby tree, flew down and asked softly, “What’s wrong, Tara?”Tara wiped her tears and said, “I don’t want these colors anymore. My friends don’t recognize me like this.”Chimu nodded wisely. “You’re right. They love you just the way you are, with your true color. “Chimu took Tara back to the pond and said, “Let’s wash off all the colors. You’ll feel better!” Tara splashed in the water, washing away the colors, and soon she looked just like herself again. The next day, when the children returned to the park, they were so happy to see Tara! They ran to her with giggles and cheers. Tara smiled, lifted them onto her back, and gave them a fun ride around the park. This time, Tara and her little friends were all happy together—just as they were meant to be!
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