Gina the Ballerina

Gina didn't know she was an elephant.

That's what everyone said.


"There's Gina.
She thinks she's a swan."

Then they laughed.

This made Gina feel sad.



She liked living in the park with the other animals.


But, she didn't like it when they laughed at her.

"Why do they do that, Momma?" Gina asked.

The momma elephant said, "They think you should be

just like them."

And Gina tried hard to be like them.


Gina looked like an elephant.

She had big ears.

She had a long trunk.

But, on the inside,

she felt different.


The other elephants did elephant tricks.


One elephant could stand on his head.

Another elephant could catch a ball with his trunk.

But, Gina couldn't do any elephant tricks.

Gina liked to listen to the happy music in the park.

She also liked to watch the beautiful swans.
And one day she jumped into the water.




All the animals laughed because Gina tried to swim with
the swans.


They said, "There's Gina. She thinks she's a swan."
Gina never jumped into the water again.
But she still wanted to be special like a swan.




"Learn an elephant trick, Gina," her momma told her.
"Then they won't laugh".
Momma was right. If she could learn one elephant trick,
they would stop laughing.

Gina said, "I'll try."


Gina practiced and practiced.


When she tried to stand on her head,
she fell over.

When she tried to catch a ball with her trunk, she
dropped it on the ground.

"I'll never be like them," she told momma. "I don't think I
can be an elephant any more."
Momma leaned down to snuggle her neck.


"You'll find your special trick, Gina. Just wait and see."
Gina worried.
She didn't know how to find her special trick.

One day lots of children came to the park.
They had balloons
and played games.

Gina stood next to her momma
and watched them have fun.
The children saw the elephants doing their tricks
and clapped their hands.
"Yes," Gina thought. "The elephants do good
tricks.
They make the children happy."
But, when the children walked to the water...


the swans were gone!
All the swans were taking a nap on the other side of the
pond.
"Oh, no", Gina said.
"The children want to see the swans swim to the music!"
Gina didn't know what to do.

The music was playing.
The children were waiting.
Suddenly, Gina ran to the edge of the water.


She didn't jump in.
She stood on the grass
and listened to the music.
Then she knew what to do!

She started to swing her long trunk.
She moved her feet to the left.
She moved her feet to the right.
She twirled around in a circle.
Gina was dancing!


The children clapped their hands.
The other animals came closer.
They all wanted to watch her dance.


And Gina smiled.
She didn't have to do elephant tricks.
She had a special trick that was her own

From then on,
people came to the park to watch the elephants.
They came to the park to watch the swans.
But, most of all...


they came to see "Gina the Ballerina".
And nobody ever laughed at her again.