Ralph Helfer Read Online Free PDF Page B

between you and your charge, to express your desires to the elephant. It is not meant to be used as a weapon. Guide her well. Never push beyond her endurance. She will always tell you what her limits are.”
    Bram ran his hand over the smooth wood and metal. It seemed to speak to him, and he felt in the right time and place he could relive the great experiences the hook had known.
    “You can now feel free to take Modoc out for walks into the forest. I am sure you both will enjoy them.” Josef put his hand on Bram’s shoulder. “This is a big responsibility I am giving you, son. You must never allow your mind to wander for a moment. Elephants are large and strong, but they need your protection from that which they do not know or understand.” Josef’s finger under Bram’s chin raised the boy’s eyes from the bull hook to look directly into his eyes. “This is also a good time to find the spiritual way of the world. A place few people ever find. When you learn to hear the voice of nature instead of your own, you will be allowed to enter through the door of the metaphysical world. Bram, listen to Modoc; she will teach you how to cross over into her world.”
    Bram had never heard his father talk of these things and yet he, on his own, had often thought of a spiritual existence between men and elephants.
    “There are times, Papa, I feel I know what Mo is thinking, and she as well knows my thoughts. It’s as though I live in her world, sharing the same thoughts and feelings, as though my blood flows with hers.” Bram considered this for a moment. “If our blood mingles,” he continued, “doesn’t that mean we are kin, brethren, and are one…together?” he finished hesitantly.
    Josef’s heart swelled. His eyes misted over. He knew those metaphysical feelings from long ago, and was proud that now his son shared them. He answered by drawing Bram to him. Their embrace was one of men who share secrets few others know, of kings passing down thrones to sons, of the camaraderie that goes with living the adventure of life’s new experiences.
    The next morning Bram, new bull hook in hand, and Modoc headed into the forest. Cutting down through the valley and across old man Geckkor’s property, they went to the secluded far end of Cryer Lake. Here the cool blue-green waters were calm and shallow. Friendly indigenous wildlife dotted the shoreline, drinking the melted snow from the Alps.
    Flocks of rooks swept over the trees, cawing at Mo as she ventured, with Bram atop her broad back, out into the lake. It reminded Bram of what his father had just said. Soon the tapering land disappeared beneath her feet and she floated free. Her huge legs hung loose, letting the current move her at its will. While the water gently lapped at her sides, she drifted quietly through the sunlit rays into the cool shadows of overhanging trees.
    “Well, Mosie,” said Bram, who had removed his shirt to enjoy the sun, “you’re getting pretty big now. Papa says you’re already a third bigger than most elephants your age. He says you’re very special and that you learn awfully quick. I guess we’re both in school ’cause Papa’s teaching me how to train and tells me the same, that I’m a fast learner.” Bram let his hand drop, his fingers cutting ripples in the cool water. “Wouldn’t it be great if someday you and I could have our own act! Just you and me! We’d have the best performance in the whole world!”
    Mo wasn’t listening. She was in a state of bliss, slowly turning in small circles as she floated along the edge of the lake. Occasionally her feet would touch bottom and she would kick off, giving her pivotal motion a boost.
    “Then we would travel, maybe even to America!”
    Mo still wasn’t listening to a word Bram said. Self-entranced, she was gently playing with a large leaf that floated nearby. Bram’s loud voice broke the rapture of the moment.
    “Mo! Are you listening to me?”
    Shocked out of her dream world, Mo