Eliza the Elephant was a strong and personable friend to many but she has one problem. She was forgetful. Being forgetful is not a good trait for elephants. Not only was Eliza ridiculed by many, especially the hyenas, for it, she also struggled in school. Be it forgotten homework or forgetting what she learned in class, she suffered and this made Eliza very sad. Her parents tried everything: working with flashcards, writing notes, tying strings around her trunk – all in an effort to help Eliza remember. Nothing worked. Being forgetful broke Eliza’s heart and her deep despair made her forget things even more.
One day, her teacher, Ms. Marsupial, had an idea:
“What if we try to teach you the piano?” Ms. Marsupial asked.
“How can I learn the piano – a whole musical instrument – when I can’t even remember my ABCs? Eliza exclaimed through tears.
“How about trying, Eliza? There’s no shame in it if you can’t and you’ll never know until you try.” the teacher pleaded.
Eliza did not believe her teacher but agreed to try. Suddenly, Eliza was seated at the piano and found that she loved the sounds that the notes made.
Within a week, Eliza lived and breathed her time at the piano. She told her family about what she learned at every lesson, finally remembering something. She even tried writing her own songs and excitedly shared each with her teacher. Eliza focused so much on the piano she simply forgot about being forgetful.
Before too long, Eliza neared her first piano recital. But, not before a familiar problem came back: she felt afraid of being forgetful.
“What if I forget the notes?”
“What if I forget my song. What if – ”
Her parents and Ms. Marsupial stopped her.
“You’ll do fine, Eliza.” they all exclaimed. “Just remember how much joy playing the piano brings you and let that be your guide.”
And that is exactly what Eliza did. As everyone predicted, everything did turn out fine. Eliza never forgot a note.
“We’re all so proud of you!” Eliza’s parents and Ms. Marsupial said, while the audience gave her a standing ovation.
“Take a bow, dear.”
Eliza happily took that bow, feeling nothing but pride for having tried and succeeded. As luck would have it, she never struggled with her memory again.
