"Thisisastory about an elephant." "Oh, not an ordinary elephant." "A very small elephant." "His name was Goliath the Second, and he was hardly any bigger than one of his father's toenails." "Hey, Pop, hi!" "Buthisfather, Goliath the First, was a mammoth tusker, the biggest elephant in all the jungle." "And in elephant society, the bigger you are, the better you are." "Big Goliath had always wished for a son who would grow to be a giant like himself." "Gee whiz!" "That was great!" "Look it, Pop." "Watch me, Pop." "Andtobe blessedwith such a tiny, insignificant son was, of course, a tremendous disappointment." "I'll show you, Pop." "Agiganticblow to his enormous pride." "Some father you are." "Shame on you, you big overstuffed blimp." "Yousee,hismother, like most mothers, was proud of her little son, no matter what." "Now, now, don't worry, son." "Brute strength isn't everything." "You'll amount to something someday, just wait and see." "Butraisingsuchatiny son in the savage, unfriendly jungle was a big problem," "and a constant worry." "Her number one worry was Raja, the crafty old tiger who could hardly take his greedy eyes off little Goliath." "Allhislifehe'dbeen  curious to taste an elephant." "And now at last he'd found one just bite-size." "And at the very first opportunity..." "You bloodthirsty old scoundrel!" "Eloise!" "Why don't you watch where you're going, you clumsy ox!" "Now, don't you "clumsy ox" me!" "I can't watch out for your little brat." "That's your worry." "If you think I'm gonna pussyfoot around..." "Goliath!" "Goliath!" "Oh, Goliath, what on earth will I ever do?" "Stop!" "Stop!" "For heaven's sakes, stop!" "Goliath's lost." "He's gone!" "He's gone!" "Goliath!" "Goliath!" "Goliath!" "Goliath!" "Goliath!" "Where, oh, where could he be?" "Good gracious." "Goliath?" "Goliath!" "Goooliiiaaattthhh!" "Oh, dear me." "Goliath!" "Good gracious." "Oh!" "Oh, Goliath!" "Goliath!" "Mother!" "Mother!" "Mother." "Here I am, Mother." "Down here, Mother." "Mother!" "Mother, Mother, Mother!" "Help!" "Help!" "Mother!" "Goliath, Goliath." "How many times have I told you not to wander off that way?" "Now, you stay right here." "You're getting to be a terrible nuisance." "Stop being a pest." "Goliathwasverytired of being treated like a baby." "He was nine years old." "At least he would be in eight months." "And he could take care of himself." "And if he was nothing but a pest, oh, then, all right." "He'd run away." "That's what he'd do, at the very first chance too." "And I'm never coming back, either." "Never, never, never!" "Hoo hoo!" "Mother!" "Goliath!" "Mother, Mother, Mother!" "You!" "You moth-eaten old pole cat!" "Well,thatwasthe end  of old Raja." "At least he was never seen again." "But it wasn't the end of Goliath's troubles." "Oh, not by any means." "You see, according to the elephant law, deserting the herd is a major offense." "And the deserter is branded a scoundrel." "A rogue elephant." "A traitor to that high and imperial order of pompous pachyderms." "But worst of all, he had disgraced his great father." "M- m-mouse!" "Ow!" "Ooh!" "Mouse!" "Mouse!" " Run!" " Oh, a mouse!" "Goliath'smotherwasso terrified that for the first time she forgot all about her tiny son." "And little Goliath was left alone to face the terror of all terrors." "Amazing." "I can't understand it." "Those big blimps afraid of..." "Hey!" "What's this?" "What's the trouble, buster?" "Scared stiff?" "I'm not scared at all." " You're not?" " I'm just as big as you are." "That's not the point, kid." "I'm a mouse." "You're an elephant." "At least you look like one." "You got a trunk." "Flappy ears." "Baggy pants." "Look, kid, I'll give you a break." "I'm gonna count to three, and then if you're not gone," "I'll tear you to shreds!" "Here goes." "One." "Better get moving." "Two." "I'm warning you, kid." "Three." "OK, you asked for it, buster!" "Oh, this is gonna be murder." "Just plain murder." "You smart aleck little punk." "Oh brother, this is pitiful." "Eee hoo!" "What?" "I..." "Oh!" "Take that, buster." "Hey!" "Cut it out!" "All right, you pesky little pachyderm." " You give up?" " No!" "Never, never, never!" "OK, here you go, buster." "Hey!" "Oooh." "Hey, don't let me down, kid." "Oh, pal, oh, pal, oh, pal." "I give up." "You win." "Ooh." "You're the champ." "OK?" "OK?" "OK!" "Phew." "Asa rewardforhis  extraordinary bravery," "Goliath was given the very highest position in the elephant herd  a place of honor on his father's head." "And his mother's worries were over, for now the whole herd looks after her precious little Goliath." "They wouldn't lose him for anything in the world."