Story continues from yesterday:
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In a few short minutes Luke and Emma were crossing the meadow side by side, heading for the woods.  Luke chatted away non-stop while Emma swished her tail and listened contentedly.
âTruth is Emma,â he explained, âIâd love to take you home with me but I really donât think me dadâd let me. Â Honestly, you should âave âeard the fuss âe made over a couple oâ rabbits.â
On the other side of the wood was another meadow, even more beautiful, with trees here and there and, to Lukeâs delight, something else.
âOoh quick Emma, over here! Â It looks like a lake or somethinâ!â
Luke rushed ahead laughing and calling her to follow. Â Cautiously, she did. Â It was such a lovely hot day that Luke couldnât resist getting into the clear, cool water.
âCome on, itâs ok, itâs not deep,â he called, âcome in with me, itâs fun!â
Emma tentatively dipped her trunk into the water and had a good long drink. Â Luke grinned.
âYeah, thatâs it! Â Now come all the way in and play with me.â
He laughed and sloshed about and splashed her so that soon she wanted to join in. Â She reached out her trunk to him and he put his hand out to her and she trod heavily, slowly, down into the lake. Â She drew up a big trunk full of water and showered it all over herself, and Luke. Â She splashed and she played and felt free. Â And so did Luke. Â It was just the best afternoon.
When they got out of the water Emma laid down on the warm grass to be dried by the sun, and Luke sat with her, leaning against her chest. Â Eventually, reluctantly, he looked at his watch. 4.32.
âI have to go now,â he told her sadly, âbut I will come back if I can.â
He didnât know when that might be.
âYou do like it here donât you?â
He knew she must and was satisfied his outlawing had paid off again â sheâd be much happier here than in that concrete enclosure. Â Sheâd have freedom; sheâd have space; he only wished she wouldnât be on her own.
âThereâs probâly rabbits here,â he told her, ârabbits make good friends. Â The thing with rabbits is, you âave to be patient. Â They might seem a bit stand-offish at first but once they get to know you theyâre very friendly.â
He stood up and said goodbye, confident sheâd understood. Â
He slipped back in to the zoo and locked the gate so that everything, well, almost everything, was as heâd found it. Â He decided it would be a good idea to hang on to the keys â heâd need them next time he visited Emma. Â
It was 4.57 when he arrived at the coach so he was in good time for Mrs Tebbutâs prompt 5pm departure, but for some reason she was crosser than heâd ever seen her.
âLuke Walker!  Do you have any idea what youâve put us through?  You have disrupted the day for the whole class!  You are a selfish, thoughtless child and I will be sending a letter home to your parents!â
âFor what?â thought Luke.
_______________________________________________
Unbeknown to Luke, seven months later, in a national newspaper:
THE DAILY NEWS
Elephant Finds Sanctuary At Last

Seven months after the 24-hour disappearance of the lonely elephant at Dillingsgate Zoo, she has been found a place at The Elephant Sanctuary. Â âCompanions for Nellyâ campaign organiser, Joanne Russell said she cannot adequately express her joy at todayâs outcome.
âWe can only thank God for bringing to light Nellyâs lonely existence by causing her to wander off by herself and ignite a media storm. If it hadnât been for the zooâs mishap of leaving her gate open, the world might never have been aware of her miserable solitary confinement.â
Seven months ago the alarm was raised at Dillingsgate zoo when keepers discovered that Nelly was missing. She was found the following day in neighbouring woodlands but not before the news was reported in local, national and international media.  This put the spotlight on conditions in which Nelly was kept.
âElephants are very social animals,â said Ms Russell, âand it was heartbreaking to learn that Nelly had been without any companionship of her own kind for almost twenty years.â
Thanks to the overwhelming public support for Ms Russellâs campaign, Nelly has now been found a place at the award winning Elephant Sanctuary where she will be able to live out her days in natural surroundings in the company of her own kind.
*********
You can read the whole of Luke Walker: animal stick up for-er Chapter 2 here.
Chapter 3 coming to this site soon!
Want it now? No problem – just order the paperback from Amazon! (It’s got the first eight chapters) đ
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