Elmo and the Tiny Friends

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Elmo the elephant loved her cozy zoo home. But something strange kept happening in her hay pile!

"Why does my hay move by itself?" she wondered. Little gray shapes would zip past her big feet.

"Those tiny things are chasing me!" Elmo trumpeted. She stomped away as fast as she could. Thump, thump, thump!

But wait... the little shapes ran the OTHER way! They squeaked and disappeared into tiny holes.

Elmo tried tiptoeing closer. But every time she moved, whoosh! The gray shapes vanished again.

"Maybe if I'm very, very quiet..." Elmo stood still as a statue. She barely even breathed.

One brave little nose poked out. Then whiskers! It was a tiny mouse, trembling with fear.

"Oh!" Elmo realized. "They're not chasing me. They think I'M chasing THEM!"

She remembered how scary big things seemed when she was a baby. Even butterflies had made her hide!

Elmo lay down slowly, making herself small. "It's okay, little friends. I won't hurt you."

The mouse crept closer... and closer... until it touched Elmo's trunk with its tiny paw!

"You're not scary at all!" the mouse squeaked. "You're soft and warm like a big gray pillow!"

Soon five little mice were playing on Elmo's back. They tickled her ears and made her giggle!

Now when Elmo sees her tiny friends, she lies still and lets them climb aboard for rides.

"Being different sizes doesn't matter," Elmo smiled. "Understanding each other is what makes us friends!"