Kay Day, an 87-year-old UK woman, loves elephants. But Day, who suffers from dementia(痴呆), rarely leaves her nursing home room and hasn’t seen a real elephant for a really long time. Until now.

Day is so fond of elephants that her room is full of elephant photos and toys. She dreamed of seeing an elephant up close again but never thought it would happen. On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, Day’s dream became a reality after her nursing home took her on a special trip to the Whipsnade Zoo.

The nursing home collected money to be able to realize Day’s dream. “Day doesn’t join in many activities and tends to spend quite a lot of time alone,” said the nursing home manager. “So when we sat and discussed wishes, we found out she would love to see an elephant. When we found the Elephant Experience at Whipsnade and contacted them, we said we should make her dream come true!”

Day was so excited about going to the zoo that she marked off the days on her elephant-themed calendar. Day’s carers telephoned her family and asked them to come along on the trip to support her on that exciting day.

Since the Whipsnade Zoo is a protection zoo that is working to protect wildlife as well as connect people with nature, the staff runs a lot of programs including various animal experiences and “Be a Keeper” days.

Day often told people around her that she would like to pet and feed the elephants herself as she did many years before. And she said that the elephants’ trunks (象鼻) are her favourite part of the huge animals. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl (卷起) it up and put it in his mouth, ” she told the reporter when she was interviewed.

The day for going to the zoo finally came.

The moment arrived when Day was able to meet the elephants up close.

One Summer’s day, my Uncle Rick, Isaiah and I went to Police Outpost Lake to fish. I’d learned to fish from my dad. He’d taught me everything I knew about fishing. Then, he passed away.

“Why do I have to be so quiet?” asked Isaiah.“All those birds are making way more noise than I ever could!”

I ignored him. Pulling back on my rod(杆),I remembered my dad’s words.“Jacob,gently bring your rod back. Keep the line up high.”Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a few great northern loons(潜鸟)gathering together not far from the shoreline.What were they doing there? Maybe it was a family? One loon, making terrible sounds, swam away from the group, towards me.

My dad had been a fish and wildlife officer. He travelled all over the province, working away from home for days on end, especially in the spring and fall. When he returned, we sat on the couch together, and he told me stories of life on the road. My dad loved his job, especially the part where he protected nature from humans.

“Isaiah! Come here!”“Now who’s shouting?”“Just get over here. Now!”

The loon stopped in the shallow water near shore. It was so close, and we could see its bright red eyes. Strangely, the bird’s wings were held tight against its body.

“Look at that beak(鸟喙)!” said Isaiah.“It could easily stab(刺)us to death with that thing!”

Walking into the water,getting closer to the loon, we both saw thin wire wrapped around its neck. Reaching down, I touched its head, my heart racing. I could see there was a shiny red hook in its body, and fishing line was wrapped tightly around its neck. Left like this, the loon couldn’t fly or fish or survive. It was asking us to help!

“Go to grab the scissors. I’ll pick it up, and you cut away the line,”I said to Isaiah, who ran away and came back with the tiny pair of scissors.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a second to calm myself.

“Hurry and cut the line!”I said.

On the first day of the summer holiday, David and Roy were talking in front of his yard, waiting for their friends. “Do you all agree, then?” asked David. “We will go for a long cycle ride during the holidays. I expect the other three will agree. We can ask them when they come.”

“But what about Sammy?” said Roy. “He hasn’t got a bicycle. His father can’t afford to buy him one.”

“Oh, we hadn’t thought of that,” said David thoughtfully. “I wonder if we can borrow one for him.” At that moment Robert, Henry and Sammy arrived.

“You three are late,” said Roy. “What happened to you?”

“We had to come round the long way,” said Robert “The old bridge over the stream has fallen apart.”

“And that means we had to walk an extra quarter of a mile and use the other bridge,” added Henry. “The stream must be nearly five feet deep after all this rain.”

“Don’t worry,” said David. “The Village Council(委员会) will soon build another one.”

“Oh no,” replied Henry quickly. “My father has already asked about that. There isn’t enough money this year.” The boys were silent for a moment.

“I wonder who built that old bridge,” Robert said. “It was only a few tree trunks(树干) held together with some nails.” Then an ideas truck him. “Do you think we could rebuild it?”

“How wide is the gap?” asked David.

“About ten yards, I think,” replied Robert.

“You know…” David paused. “I think we could do it，if we planned it properly and could borrow the tools.”

“And if we could get the timber(原木),” added Roy. “And if I could persuade my father to help. He is a carpenter(木匠), after all.”

The boys started to consider the idea seriously.

The next Wednesday, everything was ready and many villagers also came to help.