The Elephant's Girl - Softcover

Rimington, Celesta

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593121252 ISBN 13: 9780593121252

Verlag: Yearling, 2021

Inhaltsangabe

A magical adventure for fans of Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Holm about a girl with a mysterious connection to the elephant who saved her life.

An elephant never forgets, but Lexington Willow can't remember her past. Swept away by a tornado as a toddler, she was dropped in a nearby Nebraska zoo, where an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her family, Lex grew up at the zoo with her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.

Years later, Nyah sends Lex a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Soon, Lex is wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. Can Lex summon the courage to discover who she really is--and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Celesta Rimington is the author of The Elephant's Girl and Tips for Magicians, as well as an elephant advocate, a musical theater performer, and an active participant in her local writing community. As a teenager, she worked at a zoo in Omaha, which is part of the reason she set her story in Nebraska. She now lives in Utah with her husband and two children, where they have a miniature railroad with a rideable steam train.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

1

The Wind and the Zoo 

The wind and I have a complicated relationship. 

Because of the wind, I’m the girl without a birthday, without a name, without a beginning to my story. See, the wind took my family away when I was small, and I don’t remember them or where I came from. 

I’ve tried asking the wind for my family back, but it isn’t a very good listener. It does most of the talking. It whispers things only I can hear, reminding me that ghosts are real and elephants can speak. But even though I can hear the wind’s words, and even though it follows me around and tries to give me advice, the wind can never make up for taking my family away. The way I figure it, the wind owes me big. 

At least it left me in a place where I could have a home. Roger Marsh, the zoo’s train engineer, found me in the Lexington Zoo after the biggest storm Nebraska had seen in nearly four decades. I’ve been here with Roger ever since. 

A few things happen when I tell visitors that I live in the zoo. First, they laugh a little. It’s usually one of those brief, explosive laughs. But after a while, they realize I’m not kidding. Then comes the following in this order: 

     1.   They stop laughing. 

     2.   They look me up and down. 

     3.   Time passes like a snail while they consider whether or not I’m a rare breed of monkey. 

I don’t know who my parents are, but I’m definitely not a rare breed of monkey. And despite the “Elephant Girl” chant the kids at Lexington Elementary repeated when I used to go there, that’s not who I am either. 

Roger was checking the zoo’s train tracks for damage when he found me. He had some help, though. He says a ghost saw me wander into the elephant habitat after the tornado hit the city, and the ghost showed him where to find me. 

Roger, who clearly believes in ghosts, thinks I might have been five when I showed up at the zoo. And since I’ve lived here for seven years, we’ve decided I’m twelve. 

He named me Lexington.

 

2

The Old County Bank 

The zoo train is a genuine Union Pacific steam locomotive, so running it is a bigger job than you might think. Sometimes, I help Roger in the train shed when he maintains old Engine 109. He’s taught me about the tools he uses. I even try to hand him what he needs, although the wrenches used to tighten bolts on a steam train are half as tall as me. I also help Roger by taking tickets, cleaning picnic tables, and sitting in the caboose to give the train speech. He has a fireman who shovels the coal and fills the boiler, and he has a part-time locomotive crew, but Roger says I give the best train speech. 

Today is the first day of summer vacation for my friend Fisher, though, so I’m going to need the day off. 

“Hey, Roger,” I call to him from the staircase, waving my borrowed copy of Island of the Blue Dolphins at him. Roger looks up from his latest book and oatmeal. He’s reading a psychology book this time, which is a weird change from his usual history choices. He has to shift in his chair to see me. 

The living room between us is taller than it is wide, and Roger’s place at the kitchen table is partly hidden behind what used to be a bank teller’s counter. The engineer’s residence at the Lexington Zoo was a county bank in 1907. 

Roger’s eyes widen when he sees the book in my hand. The constant creases across his suntanned forehead fold up in deeper lines when he does this, and his teeth flash white when he smiles. “You finished it?” 

“Yep. This was my last assignment from Mrs. Leigh to finish my sixth-grade work. I’m done!” 

Our voices echo in the center of the Old County Bank. The zoo paid to have the place fixed up like a house (preserving much of the historical stuff, of course). Roger did a lot of the work himself--more since I came to live here--but he couldn’t upgrade the echo out of the place.

“Just in time, too,” I say, weaving around the teller’s counter and plopping into the chair across from Roger. “Fisher’s vacation starts today.” 

Roger reaches across the table and pats my pale, freckled hand with his tan one. His hands are always warm, and he almost always knows what I’m thinking. “Ah yes,” he says. “Elephant training.” 

Spending time with the elephants--one elephant in particular--is the thing that’s going to make this summer great. Having my best friend finally out of school and in the zoo all day with me is going to make it even better. 

“Yes. Mr. Leigh said we’re old enough to help this summer, so long as we do it together.” 

“And so long as Thomas is there, right?” 

I nod. Thomas O’Connell is the elephant manager. He handles all their training, which keeps the elephants busy and allows Thomas to check their health--especially their feet. The elephants can choose whether or not to come into the training barn, but since they get apples and sweet potatoes for rewards, they all seem to enjoy it. 

Roger slides a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. “I know you’re excited. But eat first.” 

I shove a spoonful of grayish-purple oatmeal into my mouth. Roger likes to put blueberries in it, and they dye the whole batch. 

“I suppose you should take some time off from the station, then.” 

“Do you have enough people today without me?” I ask. 

He smiles again and says, “I think we can make it work.” 

Roger taps Island of the Blue Dolphins on its cover. “Aren’t you supposed to write a report on this?” 

“Done. I finished it up this morning. I can give it to Mrs. Leigh when I go to see Fisher.” 

Roger scrapes the last of the oatmeal from his bowl and takes it to the sink. His overalls rustle when he moves, and his big work boots clomp on the tile floor. It’s a good thing the Old County Bank has high ceilings, or Roger might be crowded. 

“Fern and Gordon probably have some chores for Fisher,” he says, scrubbing his bowl and the oatmeal pot. “So you help him if he does, okay?” 

Fern and Gordon Leigh are Fisher’s parents. They all live in the zookeeper’s residence on a gravel road near the African Grasslands. Fisher’s dad is in charge of all the keepers at the zoo, and that means he’s the one who makes sure the animals have the best possible care. So they live in a residence on the property. Like Roger and me. 

“Of course,” I say. I always help Fisher with his chores. Helping the zookeeper’s son with his chores is not exactly what I call work, especially since he’s my best friend. 

“Meet me for lunch, okay?” 

“Of course,” I say again. I always meet Roger at the Wild Eats Café for his noon lunch break. 

I join him at the sink and fill a large water bottle for each of us. Nebraska is hot in June. 

 

3 

The Leighs 

The walk to the Leighs’ house is all uphill, since their house is halfway to the main entrance, which is the highest point of the zoo. The Old County Bank is near the main train station, which is the lowest point. I feel like I know every inch of the zoo, not only from hiking it every day but because of Roger’s...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Yearling
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593121252
• ISBN 13: 9780593121252
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 352
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchpark GmbH; gpsr@buchpark.de; ; Krügerweg 1; Trebbin; Brandenburg; 14959; Deutschland