Once upon a time, in a little village, there were five good friends: Grandpa Bao, Uncle Nam, Auntie Sau, Big Brother Bay and little Tam. Their favourite game was called "Fortune Tellers". One friend tied a scarf over their eyes, touched something, and pretended to be a wise fortune teller guessing what it was. Whenever someone guessed right, everyone clapped, clap, clap, clap!
One day, the village had a big festival. An elephant keeper came along with a huge, gentle elephant called Big Grey. When the five friends saw her, they jumped up and down. "Hooray! Let's play Fortune Tellers with the elephant!" The keeper laughed. "Of course. Big Grey is very gentle. Just touch her softly, please."
The five friends tied scarves over their eyes, held hands, and tiptoed forward, step, step, step, until they reached Big Grey. Each friend put out a hand and touched a different part of her.
Grandpa Bao touched the trunk. It was long and soft and wiggly. He giggled. "Oh, I know! An elephant is like a long garden hose, all bendy and wiggly!"
Uncle Nam touched one big ear. It flapped gently in the breeze. "No, no," he said. "An elephant is like a big rice fan, flat and flappy!"
Auntie Sau touched one of the legs. It was thick and round and strong. "You're both wrong," she said. "An elephant is like a tall pillar holding up a temple roof!"
Big Brother Bay touched the tummy. It was wide and warm and a little bit wrinkly. "Silly friends," he laughed. "An elephant is like a big warm wall!"
And little Tam, who was the shortest, touched the tail. It swished to and fro, with a bushy tuft at the end. "No! An elephant is like a little broom, swish, swish!"
"Hose!" said Grandpa Bao. "Fan!" said Uncle Nam. "Pillar!" said Auntie Sau. "Wall!" said Big Brother Bay. "Broom!" said little Tam. "Hose! Fan! Pillar! Wall! Broom!" Their voices got louder and louder, and nobody was listening to anybody.
Big Grey flapped her ears. She did not like all that noise. So she lifted her trunk and gave a soft, wobbly trumpet, "Pa-rooo!" and sprinkled a tiny shower of water over all five friends. "Oh!" they gasped, and then they started to laugh. They pulled off their scarves and looked at the elephant properly, from her trunk all the way to her tail.
"Look!" said little Tam. "We were all a little bit right! Each of us felt just one part." Grandpa Bao nodded. "We were so busy saying our own idea that we forgot to listen to each other." Uncle Nam scratched his head. "I'm sorry I said you were wrong." "Me too," said Auntie Sau and Big Brother Bay. "Sorry for being so loud!"
So the five friends sat down and put their ideas together, one by one. "An elephant has a trunk like a hose," said Grandpa Bao. "Ears like big fans," said Uncle Nam. "Legs like pillars," said Auntie Sau. "A tummy like a warm wall," said Big Brother Bay. "And a tail like a little broom!" said little Tam. With a stick, they drew the whole elephant in the sand together, and it looked just like Big Grey.
The keeper clapped. "Now that is a clever game!" The friends gave Big Grey a bundle of sweet sugarcane to say thank you, crunch, crunch, crunch. And from that day on, whenever the five friends did not agree, they remembered the elephant. They took turns to talk, they listened carefully, and they put all their little pieces together to see the whole big picture.
Parent tip: Let your child close their eyes, feel one part of a soft toy, and guess what it is before peeking, just like the five friends.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
This is a gentle retelling where friends play a blindfold game, the elephant is kind and nobody is mocked or hurt.