CHAPTER FOUR
“No trace of the missing elephant and the lions!” Barry the Parrot said, and flopped into a chair beside Raja the Chipmunk and Krish the Peacock. He wrinkled his nose in a quizzical expression. “What’s about the diary? Have you guessed the meaning of the rhyme?”
“Not yet,” the chipmunk sighed with disappointment.
“Let’s read Donut’s diary again. We must have missed something. I feel it.” Barry said, spilling roasted peanuts on the desk. “Help yourself!”
I WOULD’T BE MUTE!
THE LIONS WERE GOOD,
BUT TURNED INTO SOOT.
“Well, I think there are no objections to the fact that the lions were good, right? That’s something about soot…”
“Any ideas? Why were they turned into soot?” Raja asked.
TO FIND THAT BOOT,
MIME BURNT THE WOOD.
I DO WHAT I SHOULD…
“I think Donut knew something. The elephant was silenced because he wanted to reveal someone’s secret. Look, he wrote that he wouldn’t be mute!” Krish affirmed.
“Why did the mime want to find that boot?” Barry asked. “The mime means clown. Did he go nuts to burn the wood? Where and why did he lose his boot?”
“I have no idea!” Raja felt stupid and helpless.
“The experts told me that the elephant was carved from sandalwood, which came from the forests of Mizoram. The birthplace of our new friend – Oliver the Lizard! It’s interesting, isn’t it?” Krish took the elephant figurine out of his pocket and put it on the table next to peanuts.
“I think we have to find the mime. I mean the clown. As soon as possible.” Barry said in a confident voice.
Raja slapped his head and said, “While examining Donut’s room, I found a clown’s fake nose in the drawer!”
“The driver of that crazy truck was wearing a clown’s wig and a hat!” Krish the Peacock added.
“All the evidence leads to one person. THE CLOWN!” Barry the Parrot twittered in anxiety and anticipation.
“It’s time for action! Raja, stop chomping peanuts. Let’s go!” Krish whooped.
Raja, offended, turned his head and said, “It’s not me!”
“I mean I’m not chomping. No peanuts left on the table…”
They looked at each other. None of them were chewing peanuts at the moment. But someone in the room was!
“We must get out!” Raja said, his voice rising to a hysterical whine. “Out! Out of here! Now!”
“Wait a moment!” Krish looked at the elephant figurine more intently. The figurine turned its head and lifted its trunk in a greeting gesture. It said, “Thanks for the peanuts. They were so delicious. Hard to resist.”
“Oh…Are you alive or what? Who are you?” Krish was stunned.
“I’m Donut the Elephant,” the creature whispered. “Or rather, his small and bewitched version.”