Akimbo’s wish

      Imagine living in the heart of Africa. Imagine living in a place where the sun rises each morning over blue mountains and great plains with grass that grows taller than a man. Imagine living in a place where there are still elephants.

      Akimbo lived in such a place, on the edge of a large game reserve in Africa. This was a place where wild animals could live in safety. On its plains there were great herds of antelope and zebra. In the forests and in the rocky hills there were leopards and baboons. And, of course, there were the great elephants, who roamed slowly across the grasslands and among the trees.

      Akimbo’s father worked here. Sometimes he drove trucks; sometimes he manned the radio or helped to repair the trucks. There was always something to do.

      If Akimbo was lucky, his father would occasionally take him with him to work. Akimbo loved to go with the men when they went off deep into the reserve. They might have to mend a game fence or rescue a broken-down truck, or it might just be a routine patrol through the forest to check up on the animals.

      Sometimes on these trips, they would see something exciting.

      ‘Look over there,’ his father would say. ‘Don’t make a noise. Just look over there.’

      And Akimbo would follow his father’s gaze and see some wild creature eating, or resting, or crouching in wait for its prey.

      One day, when they were walking through the forest together, Akimbo’s father suddenly seized his arm and whispered to him to be still.

      ‘What is it?’ Akimbo made his voice as soft as he could manage.

      ‘Walk backwards. Very slowly. Go back the way we came.’

      It was only as he began to inch back, that Akimbo realised what had happened. There