Harry and his ‘Fan’ 

The summer was excruciatingly hot, and all the animals were sweating profusely. Harry, the mouse, was also affected by the sweltering summer. Inside the small hole in which he lived, he felt suffocated. Outside, he found it hard to cope with the scorching summer breeze. He didn’t know how to deal with the hot weather.

One day, he was sitting under the shade of a tree. He was sweating excessively while having a hard time dealing with the heat of the season. And then he noticed Jackie, the elephant, walking near the river. Jackie came and stood near Harry.

Harry was shocked to see Jackie so cheerful and carefree during the blazing summer. “Hey Jackie, you look so cheerful and energised. Aren’t you tired and feeling hot?” asked Harry.

“It is indeed really hot. You must have noticed me swimming or bathing in the river. I do so to keep my skin cool and clean. Here, come and feel my skin; it’s cold!” replied Jackie.

Harry, being a small mouse, was not able to reach the elephant. So, Jackie picked him up by his trunk and placed him on his back. Harry found that Jackie’s skin was cold.

Jackie felt a bit tired, so he went to sleep in the shade of a giant tree. Harry decided to jump off his back and was about to whisper something in Jackie’s ear, but suddenly Jackie started flapping his ears, which gave Harry a refreshing burst of fresh air. It was incredibly revitalising for Harry after enduring the scorching sun for so long.

Harry was content with the idea of using Jackie’s ears to beat the afternoon heat, but he didn’t want Jackie to know, as he was afraid Jackie would not be amused and might stop flapping his ears.

Harry had noticed that Jackie flapped his ears whenever a fly came close to his ear. Now, he needed to find a way to attract flies around Jackie’s ear to enjoy the cool breeze during the hot weather.

He remembered that there was a tree nearby with a beehive. He went to the beehive to get some drops of honey and sneakily put it on Jackie’s ear.

The honey started to attract bees that buzzed around Jackie’s ear, causing him to start flapping them to make the bees fly away. The more Jackie flapped his ears, the better it was for Harry, as he could enjoy more fresh air.

Since then, every afternoon, Harry would look for Jackie around the time he usually took his nap under the shade of a tree. Harry would sneakily apply some honey to Jackie’s ear, and just like that, Jackie would flap his ears, turning into Harry’s ‘fan,’ which helped him endure the scorching summer season.