After about a minute or two; Darla, Amber, and Patch were ready for Atticus and Cherry to continue the story.
"Okay..." Darla cleared her throat. "We're better..."
"Still, that must've been so awful..." Amber frowned. "I don't know what I'd do if someone took MY parents away from me."
"Well, it was really hard on Dumbo." Atticus said.
"We can imagine..." Darla said as she hugged her knees. "What did the other elephants do?"
"Gossip..." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Should have known." Patch groaned.
Mrs. Jumbo was locked up later that night. She was chained down and all she could do was cry since she was labeled as a mad elephant and she wouldn't be anywhere near her child. All Dumbo could do himself was cry miserably since he was without his mother and the other elephants just gossiped about it and thought Mrs. Jumbo got what she deserved. Atticus, Cherry, and Atlas were now coming over to Dumbo to comfort him. Dumbo sniffled as tears rolled down his baby blue eyes.
"I hope karma gets them..." Cherry glared at the gossipy female elephants, but frowned lightly and patted the baby elephant on the head. "It's okay, son, she won't be locked up forever..."
"That's right, she'll be free soon." Atticus agreed.
Cherry then remembered the mouse she met. She started to look around for him. "Here, mousey, mousey, mousey... Here, mouse!"
"Hey, kid..." the mouse was there, he had found a peanut and was trying to crack it open.
"There you are!" Cherry said to him. "Um... I need a favor..."
"Sure what can I do ya for?" The mouse asked before opening up the peanut.
"See those elephants?" Cherry pointed back at the gossiping elephants who mocked Mrs. Jumbo and poor Dumbo once more.
The mouse looked over and nodded. "I never liked 'em... Gab, gab, gab... Always gossipin'..."
"I know, they need to be taught a lesson..." Cherry knelt in front of the mouse. "I think you can help."
"I think so too." The mouse said.
Cherry saw him struggling with the peanut, so she helped him out and handed it back to the mouse.
"Thanks, kid." the mouse smiled.
"Sure." Cherry smirked back.
"So, is your little friend going to help us?" Atticus and Atlas asked.
"Okay... Your time to shine..." Cherry cupped the mouse in her hands as she snuck by the elephants who were grouped together.
The mouse seemed to give her a thumb's up. "Okay, just get ready to back up so you don't get squashed."
Cherry then put the mouse down in the piles of hay that the elephants were eating and she ran back over to Atticus and Atlas.
"This should be entertaining." Atlas said.
"Who's the mouse?" Atticus asked.
Cherry was about to say, then looked puzzled. "I dunno... I never asked..."
"Well, I guess we should find out his name afterwards." Atticus said.
The elephants gossiped, then noticed a disturbance. "MOUSE!"
The elephants then screamed and ran away like cowards as the mouse decided to torment them for making fun of Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo.
"Oh, yeah, this is very entertaining." Atlas smiled.
The elephants were so scared, then even climbed up a few tent poles and screamed. The mouse then made silly faces which made them even more scared. He then made it look like he was leaving. The elephants saw this and slowly came down back to the ground.
The mouse sensed them coming down, so he turned around again, facing them. "BOO!"
This made them even more scared and decided to stay where they were.
The mouse chuckled and then came back over to Cherry. "Good enough for ya?"
"Totally." Cherry smirked, picking up the mouse in the palm of her left hand.
"Oh, wait 'til I tell the little guy." the mouse chuckled, then looked around for Dumbo.
"Huh, where'd he go?" Atlas asked as he saw that Dumbo wasn't where he was before.
"Dumbo, you can come out now!" Atticus called.
"Oh, maybe I scared him too..." the mouse guessed.
Cherry looked around, then saw a tiny gray trunk popping out from a pile of hay. "I think I found him."
"Yep, I recognize that trunk anywhere." Atlas smiled.
"Look, Dumbo, I'm your friend," the mouse tried to soothe the baby elephant as he hid away in the hay. "Come on out, will you?"
Dumbo shook in the hay, not coming out.
"You're really not afraid of little old me, are ya?" the mouse asked.
Dumbo shook in the hay up and down to show he was nodding his head in agreement.
"You are?" the mouse sounded hurt. "Must've overdid... Don't know my own strength sometimes."
"Try using a peanut." Atticus whispered to the mouse.
"Hmm... Good idea..." the mouse agreed, he then took off his hat to show another peanut and held it in his gloved paws. "Oh, Dumbo~? Look at what I got for ya..."
Dumbo's trunk came out of the hay, trying to get the peanut.
"Ah-Ah-Ah!" the mouse took it out of his way. "Ya gotta come out first!"
Dumbo inhaled the peanut through the hay and ate it once he got it.
"Well, that just happened." Cherry muttered.
"What else could work?" Atticus asked.
"I think he really misses his mommy..." Cherry suggested.
This gave the mouse an idea. "Too bad you don't trust me, 'cuz I thought that, uh, well, maybe, you and me, we might get your mother out of the clink..."
Dumbo poked his head out of the hay for a brief moment.
"But, I guess you wouldn't be interested... So long, Dumbo..." the mouse then started to walk off while whistling a tune to himself.
Dumbo fully came out of the hay and picked up the mouse by his tail to keep him from leaving.
"Looks like he's interested now." Atticus smirked.
"That's more like it," the mouse smiled. "You know, your ma ain't crazy, she just got broken-hearted... I mean, it's not your fault you got them big ears."
This made Dumbo hide his face with his ears.
"Way to go, little guy." Atticus said sarcastically towards the mouse.
"Oops..." the mouse felt dumb now. "Aw, gee, Dumbo, I think your ears are beautiful!"
Dumbo poked his face out then in curiosity.
"Sure!" the mouse encouraged. "As a matter of fact I think they're very decorative. You know, lots of people with big ears are famous."
"Yeah." Atlas smiled.
"We could make you a star with your wonderful ears!" Cherry encouraged.
"Yeah," Atticus smiled. "Oh, right, what's your name mouse?"
"The name is Timothy Q. Mouse, at your service." the mouse introduced, removing his hat and giving a bow.
"Nice to meet ya." Atticus smiled.
"Nice to meet you all too," Timothy smiled. "You're the most unique and helpful humans I've ever met."
"Well, one of my neighbors has a mouse in her house, but he seems nice..." Cherry smiled. "Maybe you know him, his name is Jerry?"
"Oh, you mean my cousin." Timothy smiled.
"Jerry's your cousin?" Atticus asked.
"Oh, yeah, we go way back," Timothy chuckled. "Haven't seen him in a while... He lives in your neighbor's house?"
"She doesn't seem to mind, though her cat doesn't seem to like him very much." Cherry replied.
"That makes sense." Timothy shrugged.
Dumbo was curious what it would be like to be a star in the circus.
"All we gotta do is build up an act," Timothy said to the baby elephant, standing on the end of his trunk. "Make ya a star! A headliner! Dumbo the GREAT!"
"Um, the great of what?" Atticus asked.
Everybody suddenly got down in despair.
"Hmm..." Cherry scratched her head in thought. "What could work?"
"Hmm, maybe he could be part of our act." Atlas said.
"Something like that..." Atticus agreed. "But what...?"
"Maybe the ringmaster could have a suggestion?" Cherry shrugged.
Timothy scoffed. "He's never had an idea in his life!"
But then they saw a light coming from the Ringmaster's tent and then they saw him talking to someone. Cherry, Atticus, Atlas, Dumbo, and Timothy decided to, even though it was wrong, eavesdrop.
"Have I got an idea, what an idea..." the ringmaster said as he was talking with someone who was in the tent with him. "Just visualize... One elephant climbs up on top of another elephant, until finally all seven elephants have constructed an enormous pyramid of pachyderms! I step out, I blow the whistle, the trumpets are trumpeting, AND NOW… COMES THE CLIMAX!"
"Uh, what is the climax, boss?" The figure asked him, sounding like an idiot.
The ringmaster chuckled, but then sounded doubtful once he spoke again. "I don't know..."
Cherry slid her glasses off and rubbed her eyes wearily.
"I knew he never had nuthin'." Timothy scoffed.
"Oh, well, maybe it'll come to me in a dream." The ringmaster yawned.
The lights were then turned off.
"Good night, Joe." the ringmaster said, going to sleep for the night.
"Good night, Boss." the worker replied.
"Climax..." Timothy tried to come up with an idea based on what the ringmaster was saying. "CLIMAX! Dumbo, you're a climax!"
"Yep, that means a big finish." Atticus smiled.
"How do we tell the boss though?" Atlas asked.
"Leave that to me." Timothy volunteered.
"You got it, little dude." Atlas said.
Timothy then went off to the ringmaster's tent.
"You think this'll work?" Cherry asked.
"Yes, yes, I do." Atticus nodded.
Dumbo was curious and bewildered.
Cherry gently patted the baby elephant's head to soothe him. "It's okay, buddy, it's okay..."
"Yeah, everything's going to work out just fine." Atlas smiled assuring the baby elephant.
"A-A-Atlas, A-Atticus, C-Cherry," Dumbo smiled. " T-Timothy, friends."
"Did you say something?" Cherry looked back at Dumbo.
"Did he speak?" Atticus asked.
"I-I think he did..." Cherry was unsure.
"Did you just talk, little guy?" Atlas asked the baby elephant.
"Maybe we're hearing things..." Cherry shrugged.
Dumbo smiled as he came to Atlas, Cherry, and Atticus.
"Friends." Dumbo smiled.
"He did talk!" Atticus heard it then.
"Dumbo, you can talk!" Cherry smiled to the baby elephant.
"Uh-huh." Dumbo nodded with a smile.
Cherry hugged the baby elephant with a small smirk. Atticus then shook Dumbo's trunk with his hand in a friendly gesture.
