"The People vs Horton the Elephant"
The Wickershams worked fast, after a remarkably short period of time, they returned with Horton... egg, nest, tree and clover. That wasn't surprising, but what was surprising was that Gertrude was with them.
Aribelle raised a brow at that. It seemed he had found a new clover that had tiny invisible people living on it. That just cemented her opinion that something just had to be done about Horton. As soon as she received the message via black bottomed eagle that the Wickershams and Horton were on the way back she organized the citizens of the jungle of Nool.
Once Horton set foot in the jungle (relatively speaking), he was rushed off to the meeting place to appear before a judge. (And a substantial audience as well)
Aribelle quickly claimed a comfortable tree branch to watch the action.
A rather frightened looking Horton, accompanied by an angry looking Gertrude stood waiting.
"This is the case of the people versus Horton the elephant," the bailiff announced, "Judge Yertle the Turtle presiding, everyone rise!"
The turtle, in his official robes, looked over the courtroom and rapped his gavel. "Order! Order! Order in the court!"
The crowd of animals fell reasonably quiet as the bailiff read the charges that Aribelle had given him a few moments earlier, "The defendant is charged with talking to a speck, disturbing the peace and loitering on an egg."
"Your honor, this clover is Exhibit A," Horton held it out to show the judge. Yertle leaned in to examine the clover and the speck of dust.
"They're Whos here, there are Whos here, smaller than the eyes can see," Horton said, "It's true sir, there are Whos here, he's a Who and so is She."
"Biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool," the murmur went through the crowd.
"Order! Order!" Yertle banged his gavel again, "Order in the court!"
"Call to the stand the star witness versus Horton the elephant," the bailiff called the Sour Kangaroo to the stand.
She sauntered up to take her position, with her little one in her pouch as always.
"Raise your right hand and swear," the bailiff directed.
She did so, glancing over at Horton, "I swear..." she started slowly, then turned to the rest of the animals, "That he's the biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool as I testified long ago! Biggest blame fool, just a fool, fool, fool!" She turned back to the judge, "And a mother like me should know."
The Sour Kangaroo looked Horton over critically, "Judging him trunk to toe you'd better think - "
"Think!" the bird girls echoed
"Oh please throw him in the clink!"
The trial went on, with the bird girls testifying about how they saw him talking to a speck and the wickershams testifying about how he was sitting on an egg.
Gertrude tried to raise an objection, but the rest of the animals over ruled her.
The noise grew unbearably loud until a deafening trumpet sound broke through.
All startled eyes turned to Horton, the frustrated elephant.
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant," Horton exclaimed, "An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent. You can throw me in jail or lock me up in a zoo, but I won't desert my egg and I will not abandon Who!"
Gertrude nodded firmly in agreement with Horton.
The elephant turned to Yertle, "These Whos, sir, win or lose sir, whether you believe or not... They're here, they live in fear and I'm the only friend they've got."
He looked down at the clover for a moment and then back up to Yertle.
"You can do what you want with me your honor, and I won't question why," Horton said softly, "But please save Who, the tiniest planet in the sky."
A stunned silence fell across the crowd. Aribelle was astonished by this. Horton really was insane...
Yertle cleared his throat. "Based on the evidence I have no choice but to order the defendant Horton the elephant remanded to the Nool Asylum for the Criminally Insane."
Horton hung his head and Gertrude let out a gasp.
Aribelle nodded. Finally this would be the end of it.
"And as for the dust speck!" he continued
"As for the dust speck?" the bird girls asked.
"And as for the dust speck!" the bailiff repeated.
"That dust speck!" the animals all chorused
"That we will boil, boil, boil, boil, boil in a hot steaming kettle of beezlenut oil!" Yertle and the bailiff declared together.
The Wickershams darted off and returned bearing a pole.
"Boil it!?" Horton exclaimed, his eyes growing huge at the sight of the steaming kettle dangling from the pole the Wickershams held, "No! That you can't do! It's all full of persons - they'll prove it to you!"
Aribelle shook her head as Horton started addressing the clover. Getting rid of that speck of dust would be the best thing for Horton.
"Boil it! Boil it! Boil it!" the animals were excited.
Horton and Gertrude tried to keep the clover out of the grasp of the Wickershams. Aribelle was about to slip down from her branch when all of a sudden...
"YOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!"
Dead silence fell.
That sound... had come from the clover.
Horton looked around at everyone. "Do you hear what I hear? Do you see what I mean?" a grin spread across his face, "They've made themselves heard... though they still can't be seen."
"They've proved they are persons, no matter how small," Gertrude smiled happily
Horton gave the little bird a smile. She had never doubted him... "And their whole world was saved by the smallest of all."
Aribelle blinked, watching the two of them. Something must have happened while the two of them were gone... Horton certainly noticed Gertrude now.
"How true, yes how true," said the Sour Kangaroo, "And from now on, you know what I'm going to do?"
Gertrude and Horton moved protectively in front of the clover.
"From now on, I'm going to protect them with you!" she put her arms around the two of them.
And the young kangaroo in her pouch said, "Me too!"
Aribelle and the Wickershams exchanged glances and she gave a faint nod. Even she could admit when she had been wrong.
Suddenly Horton gasped and looked down. "Oh no! The egg! It's hatching!"
Everyone gathered around as the speckled egg started to twitch and shake. A crack spread down the side of it and a rather peculiar creature tumbled out. It was mostly gray, with a trunk and big floppy ears and... wings.
A gasp ran through the animals, "An elephant bird!"
Horton stared at the baby, "Why... it looks just like me... except for the wings."
At the sound of a familiar voice, the baby looked up at Horton, opened her mouth, and chirped.
"And except for the voice, cuz that's how a bird sings," Gertrude said.
"Oh Gertrude..." Horton looked to her, "What'll I do? I'm slow and I'm fat... all I know is the earth, and she'll need much more than that."
"I have wings..." Gertrude said softly, "Yes I can fly..." She took Horton's trunk, "You teach her earth and I will teach her sky..."
"Just call my name..." he said softly.
"And I'll see you though..." she finished.
"One small voice in the universe..." Horton murmured
"One true friend in the universe," she told him.
"Who believes in you..."
An invisible world, not-crazy elephant, a bird with a one-feathered-tail and an elephant-bird; Aribelle shook her head as she slipped off into the bushes as the sun set, turning the sky a faint pink color. Who could have ever thought of this sort of think?
The End