I became incredibly cute after dressing up as an animal!

Lan Xiaoxiao's daily life consists of drinking milk, sleeping, and playing and chatting with Chu Yi.

With such a large family protecting her, Lan Xiaoxiao felt very safe.

Everyone dotes on the baby, and also on the little male elephant they found.

Lan Xiaoxiao and Chu Yi's happy childhood began.

The baby elephant lives a happy life every day, but it still has a problem: it doesn't know how to use its trunk!

My nose is completely out of control, swinging back and forth like there's a big bug on my face, and sometimes I even accidentally step on it.

Lan Xiaoxiao knew it was her nose and was trying her best to control it, but she just couldn't.

"Aww!"

The nth time she stepped on her own nose, Lan Xiaoxiao cried out in pain. She stomped her foot hard on the ground in anger, and the base of her tail flew up. She was really angry.

I immediately came over to comfort it. It's six months old and has just learned to use its nose these past few days.

In the first year of junior high school, I gently hooked the little cutie's nose with my own to prevent it from being stepped on while dragging on the floor. Then I made a sound saying, "I'll hold your hand the whole time so you won't get stepped on. Don't worry, you'll learn in a while. I did the same thing before."

"You can't keep holding my hand, or I won't grow up." Lan Xiaoxiao resolutely refused: "Before, when I watched videos, I thought it was cute when a baby elephant stepped on its trunk, or when it was angry and its ears were outstretched, charging around wildly. Now that I've become that baby elephant, I'm not cute, and I get angry!"

His eyes were full of doting affection at first glance: "You are the cutest baby in the whole world."

Lan Xiaoxiao blushed: "You always say things like that. Is this the time to say such things? I'm really angry. Why is this nose so hard to use?!"

"It's normal not to know how to use it yet. We'll take it slowly. You'll definitely be one of the first babies to learn how to use your nose. Maybe you'll be able to by the end of the month." Chu Yi was very good at comforting people. She spoke gently, encouraging them while also expressing her expectations.

Lan Xiaoxiao fantasizes that next month she will be able to use her nose, and then her grandma, aunt, mom and sister will all praise her!

Just thinking about it makes me happy.

"I'm going to try my best to use my nose!"

Lan Xiaoxiao has started practicing again.

Others, like drinking water, gently curl their noses, fill them with water, bend back into their mouths, and gulp it down—a smooth and effortless process.

She tried to drink water through her nose, but couldn't get it in for a long time. Either she managed to get it in, or she choked on it!

When the baby choked, all the elephants around her became extremely nervous, rushing over to comfort her and patting her head.

Lan Xiaoxiao can now understand some of the frequencies of elephants.

Grandma Mary said, "Baby, don't worry, it's all because of this bad water that made your baby choke."

Aunt Angie said, "The baby is so amazing, he can absorb water now."

Anna: "Your sister was choked like this when she was little."

Anlin: "What's wrong? It's okay, baby."

An'an's mother sucked the water in through her nose and gently placed it near Lan Xiaoxiao's mouth for her to drink.

A doting mother spoils her child; Lan Xiaoxiao simply drank the water her mother brought her, too lazy to even crawl into the river to drink.

In the first year of junior high school, she immediately followed An'an's example and fed the little cutie water.

After the elephant herd finished drinking the water.

Lan Xiaoxiao bumped her head against Chu Yi's bottom and said with a grin, "Actually, I've always been curious whether there's snot or boogers in an elephant's trunk. Just now, I forced myself to drink the water that you and Mom fed me with your nose."

"..." Chu Yi said helplessly, "The first thing I did when we got to the river was to rinse my nose with water before drinking water and then feeding you. It was very clean."

"That's good!" Lan Xiaoxiao said happily.

Chu Yi added, "But I don't know if Aunt An'an washed her nose."

"..." Lan Xiaoxiao's smile froze.

Chu Yi smiled and said, "Baby, next time just drink the water I feed you, my nose is the cleanest."

"???" Lan Xiaoxiao sensed something was wrong.

He's a bit of a closet pervert in the first year of junior high, and also petty.

There were signs before when they were acting like pandas and dogs, but now that they can communicate freely, it's even more obvious!

Lan Xiaoxiao decided that it was better to rely on herself than on others! She was going to learn how to drink water through her nose! Even if she didn't learn, she would still be self-reliant!

On the riverbank, while the other elephants elegantly drank water with their trunks, Lan Xiaoxiao had half her body submerged in the water, slurping water with her mouth while looking down.

Lan Xiaoxiao was drinking water while spacing out.

On the opposite bank of the river, several gray objects that looked like dead wood floated on the water. Lan Xiaoxiao took a few sips of water and looked up, just in time to meet a pair of yellow-green eyes, round and still floating on the water.

The baby elephant froze! It almost spat out the water it had just drunk from its nose, took a half step back, and let out a cry.

"what!"

Chief Mary immediately moved to the side, her massive body steadily stepping into the river, blocking the baby elephant and those eyes, her broad body like a wall.

Through her grandmother's legs, Lan Xiaoxiao saw those yellow-green eyes sink deeper and slowly disappear into the water.

It's a crocodile.

The water is murky, and I can't see the bottom. I feel like there are a lot of crocodiles hiding there!

Startled, Lan Xiaoxiao rushed ashore with her nose sticking out, and Chu Yi immediately went over to touch her.

"Don't be afraid, baby. That thing won't dare to attack us. Grandma Mary has been watching the water. We're safe," Chu Yi said.

I know this, but I'm still scared.

As a human soul, I have a natural fear of crocodiles.

Everyone could sense the baby's fear.

From then on, whenever Lan Xiaoxiao drank water, Chief Mary would always stand between her and the deep water, her eternal protector.

The other elephants also formed a circle, protecting the two baby elephants as they drank water, giving them a sense of security.

Lan Xiaoxiao was no longer afraid. She lowered her head to drink her water, and occasionally looked up to see Mary's broad back standing in front of her, like an unmoving mountain.

Lan Xiaoxiao gradually adapted to the rhythm of life of the elephant herd.

They move around during the day to find food and water, take a nap, and then huddle together to sleep at night.

This place is filled with the scent of animals, far removed from the human world.

Lan Xiaoxiao thought she might not encounter humans for many years.

One day, Lan Xiaoxiao saw two parallel gullies on a muddy riverbank; they were tire tracks.

Someone passed by here.

"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, there seems to be someone around here. I don't know if they're good or bad."

Lan Xiaoxiao knew that there was an area in the Masai Mara that was open to the public, and that guides regularly took tourists in jeeps to see the wildlife.

But clearly, the area where they live is not a tourist area.

There are very few cars here.

Lan Xiaoxiao became worried when she saw the tire tracks.

After all, Chu Yi's family was killed by humans.

Could these people have stayed and continued to harm other elephant families?

Chu Yi smelled it and said, "It doesn't smell like those bad people."

"Do you still remember the smell?"

"Yes, the smell, the voice, the appearance, I remember everything clearly," Chu Yi said confidently.

Lan Xiaoxiao: "That's right, elephants have hyperthymesia, they can remember something for a second clearly for a lifetime."

One afternoon after the rain, two rainbows appeared in the sky at the same time, one deep and one shallow, spanning the entire grassland.

Lan Xiaoxiao and Chu Yi ran wildly on the grass, their favorite chasing game.

If you encounter the other party, you win. Then you turn around and run away, and the loser has to chase after you.

Without a phone or internet, I enjoy playing these simple little games. They're never boring; in fact, they're very satisfying.

Playing games with your loved one is so much fun, right?

The ground trembled slightly, and in the distance, dust rose, revealing two moving dark shapes—jeeps—slowly moving along the horizon.

Lan Xiaoxiao's ears suddenly snapped open, startled.

There's someone here!

Did you drive over?

They noticed the situation and rushed over to shield the two babies. Chief Mary stood at the front, her calm eyes fixed on the jeep in the distance, her expression full of warning.

As one of the five dominant species of the African savanna, the size and strength of the African elephant are no joke.

Even if a human is sitting in a hard car, an elephant can attack as easily as stepping on cardboard.

The mother elephant moved closer, forming an arc, with the calves surrounded in the middle. An'an protected Lan Xiaoxiao and Chu Yi under her belly.

The two cars didn't get close; they turned at a great distance and drove off in another direction.

Lan Xiaoxiao peeked half her head out from between An'an's legs, watching the two cars grow smaller and smaller until they became two tiny black dots and disappeared on the horizon.

From a distance, she could see that the passenger in the jeep was a black-haired man who appeared to be Asian, or perhaps Chinese.

……

Inside the jeep parked some distance away, Zhang Wang put down his binoculars: "We scared them."

Bud also looked through his binoculars for a while: "That baby elephant is less than two months old. We were just too close."

Mia, sitting in the back seat, said, "Next time, park further away. I was careless just now; they are very alert."

The elephants here are truly wild and resist human contact.

The elephant herds that frequently enter the area, often with tourists, completely ignore humans and jeeps as if they were trees.

"We just saw it clearly too. Chu Yi is living very well with Mary's family and has grown quite a bit. An An gave birth to a female baby, who is very lively and healthy," Bud summarized. "Our task is to follow this elephant herd from a distance and protect them."

Zhang Wang sighed: "Everyone knows about the posts on the dark web, right? Someone discovered that the Osa family still has a baby elephant alive, which is Chu Yi. These people are still waiting for an opportunity to make a move, and there are already posts offering a high price for Chu Yi's teeth."

Mia was furious!

"These demons hiding outside the screen!"

Bud: "We need to follow along and protect this elephant herd, while other organizations are also investigating the identities of these people. We must not let them succeed."

Although they are investigating those people's identities, everyone knows that it's very difficult to find them through the dark web...

All they can do is protect this elephant herd.

……

The rainy season is over, June has arrived, and the weather has suddenly become exceptionally hot and dry. The once lush green grass has suddenly turned withered and yellow.

Lan Xiaoxiao was extremely hot.

"It's already this hot at the very beginning; there's a four-month dry season..."

In just one week, the grass turned yellow overnight, the water evaporated quickly, the river became shallower and shallower, and in some places the cracked riverbed was exposed.

The wind became dry and hot, and when the sun came out, the ground seemed to be steaming.

Lan Xiaoxiao was completely dry, and her nose felt like it was about to crack.

When I take a breath, my nasal cavity is filled with hot air, which is very uncomfortable.

She still prefers the humid rainy season; the dry season is so unbearable.

It was unbearably hot on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I pulled my little cutie to stand under Chief Mary's belly in the shade, with my eyes half-closed.

Mary led the elephant herd to a muddy pond where there was still water.

The water wasn't deep, but the mud was wet. Mary first stepped into the mud pit, sucked in some thin mud with her trunk, then turned around and walked to the baby elephant. She gently sprayed mud on the baby elephant's back, and the cool, sticky mud flowed down her spine.

Normally, Lan Xiaoxiao would never tolerate having mud all over her body.

But now, Lan Xiaoxiao shuddered, feeling so comfortable she wanted to scream.

This mud feels so cool and refreshing when sprayed on my back!

Mary patiently sprayed mud on Lan Xiaoxiao and Chu Yi, which served as a natural sunscreen for the elephants.

Other elephants also circled the mud pit, using their trunks to pump out mud and water, then flicking their trunks to spray it onto their backs.

The elephant herd quickly turned into gray-black mud elephants, with only their two bright eyes showing.

There are fewer and fewer edible mimosa leaves around.

Chief Mary stood under a tree that had been gnawed down to its branches for a while, then turned and started walking westward, emitting a rhythmic sound.

The other elephants immediately understood that the migration was about to begin.

The food and water resources in this area have been exhausted. If we don't leave soon, we will starve or die of thirst here.

The elephant herd followed, not very fast, but they kept moving for several days, never stopping except to eat and sleep.

The baby elephant had short legs, and after walking for a few days, its steps became slower and slower. An'an would stop and wait for it every now and then.

I've been persevering since the beginning of junior high, but I'm starting to feel a bit tired.

Chu Yi walked beside Lan Xiaoxiao the whole time, and every few steps he would gently nudge her lower back with his trunk, saying, "Go baby, you can walk this far. You're the most amazing baby elephant I've ever seen."

Lan Xiaoxiao laughed: "Besides me, have you seen a second baby elephant?"

Grade 7: "So you're the only baby elephant I've ever seen, so cute."

"You are a baby elephant yourself."

The two little ones were bickering, but they were being all sweet and affectionate.

After walking for five days without seeing a river, the morale of the entire team was somewhat low.

Chief Mary, however, remained calm and composed, showing no signs of discouragement, and led the group forward.

Elephants have hyperthymesia; they can remember the paths they walked and the smells of the wind they caught when they were one or two years old, and they can use these memories to find water sources.

Chief Mary also migrated with her maternal grandmother when she was young. Now she has become the patriarch of the elephant herd, leading everyone to find food and water.

On the evening of the sixth day, Mary stopped, raised her nose high, swung it from side to side in the air a few times, then turned south and quickened her pace.

The elephant herd followed it for a while, and the humidity in the air changed noticeably, carrying a faint smell of mud.

A wide pond appeared ahead. The water was not large, and the surrounding area was all dry, cracked mud, but the water was clear, and a circle of animals were drinking around it!

Wildebeest, antelope, zebra, giraffe, and a group of lions lying in the grass in the distance, while a cheetah squints and drinks water in the sunset.

Mary walked ahead, her massive body appearing at the edge of the pond, the African elephant's footsteps deep and steady.

The wildebeest made way, clearing a small area in the center of the pond.

Mary didn't go into the water directly. She stood by the water's edge, opened her ears, glanced around, then turned and touched Lan Xiaoxiao's shoulder with her nose.

He gestured for the baby elephant to go drink water.

An'an led Lan Xiaoxiao to the water's edge, with Chu Yi following behind her. The elephants formed a circle, with Lan Xiaoxiao and Chu Yi standing in the middle, and the baby elephant drinking water first.

Lan Xiaoxiao drank water while looking at the food chain around her.

Herbivores and carnivores all gathered in this small pond to drink, and there were no violent incidents or hunting activities.

This is the dry season, a truce in the desperate struggle for water resources.

The animals tolerated each other's resources, forming a temporary neutrality.

"Drink quickly, or they'll muddy it up," Chu Yi reminded her, knowing that her little darling loved cleanliness and only drank clean water.

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Author Da Long: Goodnight~