and the Great Rhino Olympics
BY ERROL SEAMAN
ILLUSTRATED BY SAM MADELEY
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For children everywhere — with support and love to shine your light on the world
BLANK SCREEN PUBLISHING 3 Blue Anchor Yard London E1 8LR blankscreenbooks.co.uk info@blankscreenbooks.co.uk © 2013 Text Errol Seaman © 2013 Illustrations Sam Madeley All rights reserved A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library upon request ISBN: 978-0-9574715-3-5 Printed in the United Kingdom OTHER CHILDREN’S BOOKS FROM BLANK SCREEN PUBLISHING Stories I read to my daughter at bedtime... by Patris Gordon & Janet King The Most Beautiful View in the World... by Kathleen Nelson & Janet King
and the Great Rhino Olympics BY ERROL SEAMAN ILLUSTRATED BY SAM MADELEY
B
y appearances, Yusuf was a rhino just like any other young rhino. He had powerful hind legs, which allowed him to move quickly and charge whenever he wanted.
He had tough thick skin that protected him from thorny Acacia trees and shrubs. He also had a sharp, probing and penetrating stare that made his eyes look small and dangerous. And just like every proud and powerful rhino, he had two large horns that would help him fight off any predators.
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But even though he looked like a powerful rhino, Yusuf actually felt very different. Every morning when Yusuf would go to the water hole for a drink, he would lean over to take a sip. But once the rippling water settled, his reflection would reveal to him... not a proud, strong and powerful rhino, but a cute, cuddly little pygmy rhino! Every time he went to the water hole he would see the same thing staring back at him: a little, cute, cuddly pygmy rhino. But Yusuf knew he was really a big, strong and powerful rhino. Yusuf longed to enter the Great Rhino Olympics but was sad because he felt like a little pygmy and not the strong powerful rhino that he really was.
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The Great Rhino Olympics was the greatest event amongst all the rhino tribes on the African plains. Animals from far and wide would all come to watch these games. Lions, monkeys, giraffes and buffaloes all wanted to see who was the greatest rhino of them all. It was an event not to be missed and the winner would be talked about for years to come. All of the most powerful rhinos would compete for the chance to become the ‘Great Rhino Champion’!
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Yusuf’s family had a long and proud history in the Rhino Olympics. His father was once a Great Rhino Champion and his grandfather was one, too. His grandfather had died had many years ago and his father also died when he was only a very young rhino. So Yusuf knew that one day his tribe would expect him to become a Great Rhino Champion as well. There were many young rhinos in his tribe who loved nothing more than to have fun by running, charging and staring fiercely at one another to see who was the strongest rhino in the family.
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Day after day Yusuf continued to feel sad as he approached the water hole. On one cloudy day, he walked up to the water hole and sighed loudly: “I’ll never be a real rhino. How can I ever win the Great Rhino Olympics? I may look like a rhino on the outside, but on the inside — all I am is a stupid little pygmy!”
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As soon as he said this, an old and wise red-billed hornbill flew past him. On hearing Yusuf, the hornbill shook his head and came to rest nearby on a thorny Acacia tree. The hornbill’s name was Malacca and he had a very special job on the African plains. Malacca was a very spiritual creature with great magical powers and it was his responsibility to make sure all the animals on the African plains were happy. After hearing what Yusuf had said, Malacca knew that Yusuf felt sad and didn’t believe in himself, and if Yusuf didn’t believe in himself he could never become a Great Rhino Champion. Malacca flew over Yusuf and drifted high in the sky, just past the Acacia tree, thinking of what he could do to help Yusuf feel better about himself. Then suddenly it came! “I’ve got it!” Malacca whispered. He had a brilliant idea to help Yusuf feel better about himself.
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He quickly began to work on a magical spell. He gathered twigs from the berry bush, snapped off thorns from the Acacia tree, and with his beak, he plucked some dry grass. Placing them together on the ground, he watched as the hot, high noon sun broke through the morning’s unusual cloudy sky. He then spoke the magic words: “For This Rhino To Really See, A Little Pygmy He Must Really Be... Shaka Laka Boo Boo!” The twigs, thorns and grass began to smoulder and smoke in the hot sun and soon the fire came. “Ahaa!” Malacca shouted as he flew away. “My work is done.” His spell had now been cast down onto Yusuf.
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Unaware of Malacca’s spell, Yusuf leaned down for a drink in the water hole. He still believed that he was a little pygmy inside — and because that was what he believed... that was exactly what he became. Rising slowly from the water hole, Yusuf started to feel strange. He began to wobble and wibble and shuffle and jiggle. He bounced and pounced and dived and jived — all across the dusty plain surrounding the water hole. All this jiggling made him feel extremely dizzy so he closed his eyes to try and gain balance while holding his head.
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“What’s happening to me?!?!” he asked himself. He steadied his legs and slowly opened his eyes gradually realising he felt okay. But Yusuf looked down at his body and gasped, “HUHHHH!!!” Something had changed! His strong hind legs had turned stumpy, with a cute little pygmy bum; his thick, tough skin had become soft and supple; his eyes were wide and shiny, unlike his usual intimidating stare... but worst of all, Yusuf had lost his big, fierce rhino horns! He had actually become a real pygmy rhino and looked just like the reflection he saw in the water hole.
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Many days and weeks passed and Yusuf had grown to behave like the cute and cuddly pygmy he had become. He had forgotten all about the fierce and powerful rhino ways that his father and grandfather had used to help them win the Great Rhino Olympics. Instead of running and charging with his horns like he did before with the other young rhinos, he would now only playfully leap and bounce around. His thick rhino skin was now so soft that the mosquitoes came and bothered him all day long.
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On one hot sunny day, Yusuf was playing in the water hole with the other rhinos. They were all having fun by jumping into the mud and making big splashes. But while he was play-fighting with the other rhinos, Yusuf made a running jump and felt his back leg hit something hard. Boof! He slowly turned and realised he had accidentally kicked a rhino on the nose. However, this was not any rhino – this was Kono the Rhino. Kono was the biggest and fiercest rhino on the plain and he never usually joined the other rhinos to play games in the mud. But it was a very warm day and Kono needed to cool down, although Yusuf had now made Kono hot with anger!
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Kono knew that Yusuf used to be a powerful rhino but as a pygmy rhino, he saw that Yusuf was no challenge for him and could never beat him. He turned around and faced Yusuf with his fierce eyes and held an intimidating stare. “Kono! I’m... I’m sorry. It was an accident...” whispered Yusuf. Kono shouted back with anger: “Accident? Well, now, there’s about to be an accident!” Kono kicked back the dust with his front feet, gave a loud grunt and charged forward, knocking Yusuf flat on to the ground. All the other rhinos laughed at Yusuf.
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He was so embarrassed! He felt unhappy that they were all laughing at him, and was sad that he couldn’t defend himself. He then got up, washed some blood away from his pygmy nose, shook his little pygmy bum and left the mud hole, sad and alone.
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Yusuf wished he could become a real, strong and powerful rhino again, and not a pygmy. After walking for many hours, he stumbled upon a new water hole. As he bent down to take a drink, a dark shadow suddenly appeared over him. He turned around and saw a sight he would never forget. There behind him was a huge and almighty rhino staring down upon him. This rhino had tough thick skin, a menacing stare and the sharpest horns. He was the largest and most ginormous rhino that Yusuf had ever seen in his life. “I am Jafarl,” said the rhino in a deep thunderous voice. “I am the king of this tribe!” As he spoke, the birds in the trees flew away and the crocodiles scuttled into the water, all fearing for their safety.
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Yusuf looked around and saw the other rhinos that belonged to Jafarl’s tribe. There was something different about this new tribe, he thought. The rhinos were doing something he had rarely seen: they weren’t splashing around in the mud playing games like his old tribe, instead they were running really, really fast! Yusuf remembered how his father used to run this fast. Some of the rhinos would flex their knees, brush back the dirt on the ground with their feet and charge! Other rhinos that were neither running nor charging were butting their heads together and sharpening their rhino horns. Some
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were simply staring at themselves in the water hole and practising their intimidating rhino stares. It was an awesome sight! Yusuf looked down at his tiny pygmy body and then looked up at Jafarl and asked timidly: “Can you teach me to do that?�
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Jafarl turned, looked down at him and let out a loud gruff snort that stopped the movement of the entire tribe:
“Kuurrrghhh!!!!!!!” Yusuf coiled back with fear, but Jafarl smiled and said: “Come with me, my son. I will take care of you, but be warned, this is not an easy journey. It will demand a lot of work from you, but the rewards are great!” Yusuf nodded his head. He was so impressed by the rhinos in this tribe he knew he would have to work very hard to be just like them. So Jafarl began to teach Yusuf the sacred teachings of ‘The Ways of the Rhino’. Yusuf worked with Jafarl
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to turn his pygmy legs into powerful ones so he could charge like the other rhinos. He would charge over and over again. Sometimes he would fall over with his nose buried in the ground and when he did the other rhinos didn’t laugh, they would help him up and encourage him to continue to train. He began sharpening his horns and would also butt heads for hours with the other rhinos. Sometimes his head would hurt from all his hard work, but Jafarl wouldn’t let him stop and would instruct Yusuf to continue to train. Jafarl would bellow to the whole tribe in his powerful and thunderous voice: “Training yourself builds stamina. And every champion rhino has stamina!”
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As the days of training and learning turned into weeks, and the weeks became months, Yusuf could see and feel his rhino skin getting thicker and tougher again. The mosquitoes started to leave him alone and the thorns from the Acacia shrubs would break when he brushed past them. But the most important lesson of all that Yusuf learned from Jafarl was on the day just before the Great Rhino Olympics.
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All the rhino tribes from the great African kingdoms were also training for the Great Rhino Olympics. Yusuf wasn’t sure if he was good enough yet to compete in the Olympics. Standing beside the sacred tree, Jafarl calmly said: “Yusuf, I want you to represent our tribe in the Great Rhino Olympics.” “But Jafarl...” Yusuf began, “surely not me. I’m not ready for this!” Jafarl looked at him with respect, and said: “Yusuf, you have trained hard; you have displayed focus and commitment to learn The Ways of the Rhino, but you have one more lesson to learn. Go to the water hole, look at your reflection and tell me what you see.”
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Yusuf stomped to the water hole, and as he did so the birds flew away, the crocodiles scuttled into the water, and even some buffaloes moved out of his path. His steps made a loud sound: Boom! Boom! Boom! and even caused the water to ripple. Yusuf bent down before the water and stared at his reflection. As the water settled, what he saw in the water astounded him. No longer did he see a cute little pygmy rhino looking back at him. No — for the first time in his life, Yusuf saw a powerful, strong, smart and intimidating rhino from his own reflection.
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Just at that moment, Yusuf looked up in the sky and saw Malacca, excitedly flying around in circles. Malacca had come to see that his magical spell was complete. Yusuf had found his self belief and now was happy with himself. It was at this point that Yusuf finally understood that, ‘You are what you believe you are, and you are what you train and prepare yourself to be!’ Yusuf realised he was always a strong and powerful rhino... he just needed to believe he was! Jafarl knew Yusuf was ready for the Great Rhino Olympics and now Yusuf could see what Jafarl saw in him. Yusuf bellowed in a loud thunderous voice: “I will represent the tribe and show the world my great rhino power!”
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The next day, all the tribes in the kingdom gathered at the Great Mudoki water hole. Tribes from the north, south, east and west all came. Lions, monkeys, giraffes and buffaloes from the plains far and wide came to watch. Jafarl had instructed Yusuf that he would represent the tribe in the charging competition. As his time to participate came closer, Yusuf felt very nervous but he was determined to do his best. He thought about his father and grandfather and how well they had done at the Olympics many, many years ago.
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In the first round he faced Harondo, from the North tribe, who was a very powerful rhino. Yusuf and Harondo were ready to charge and when the referee hit the sacred drum, they were off! Yusuf took the early lead, but he slipped and his nose went into the dirt. Harondo overtook him and headed towards the finish line. But Yusuf was so determined to win, he got up in full stride, flexed his powerful hind legs, quickly
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passed Harondo and charged his way to victory. As Yusuf crossed the finish line, he saw Jafarl waiting for him. “Well done, Yusuf. Celebrate and enjoy this victory... even though you have more challenges ahead.” Jafarl gave Yusuf a smile, then turned and walked away. As Yusuf watched Jafarl stroll into the distance, he said to himself: “I can win this — I know I can!”
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In round two Yusuf beat Kinkade, from the West Tribe, and in round three he beat Olonga, from the East tribe. He celebrated each victory with a smile from Jafarl and some kind words of wisdom. Yusuf had now made it to the final where he would meet his hardest challenge yet. As he approached the starting line and looked for his final opponent, he felt a bump from behind. As he turned around, he saw someone he hadn’t seen in a long while. It was Kono — the biggest and fiercest rhino from his old tribe!
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Kono looked at him and laughed: “Do you really think you can beat me? I will crush you like I did before. You’re still a little pygmy rhino to me!” But Yusuf was not upset by Kono’s words. He knew they were not true and were only said to try and distract him from winning the race. They both lined up, ready to charge; then the referee hit the sacred drum and off they went! Kono took the early lead, but Yusuf managed to get in front. Kono pushed
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harder and harder and regained the lead, and as they came towards the finish line Kono was leading. Yusuf knew that he could do better. He had to make one last thrust. so he flexed his hind legs and gave everything he had. He reached closer to Kono and as they approached the finish line, he stretched... he pushed... he stuck out his sharp rhino horns... and won the race! Yusuf jumped for joy, knowing his father would have been so proud of him.
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Jafarl and all the other rhinos from the tribe ran over and rubbed their noses with Yusuf and gawked loudly in celebration. “Hooray! Hooray!� they cheered. The rhinos from his old tribe had come to watch and congratulated him, too. The lions, monkeys, giraffes and buffaloes also showed their delight at his amazing victory. He had done it! Then all the rhinos from all the tribes went to the Mudoki water hole to celebrate. As they left together, Yusuf knew from all his hard work and great self-belief, he had finally become what he always was... a Great Rhino Champion! THE END
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’s Malacca orner C l a c i Mag
There are many wonderful lessons to take from Yusuf’s story. Answer the questions to see what else you learned from his adventures.
Q: What is the main lesson you learned from Yusuf?
A: ____________________ _________________ __________
Turn over the page to see more about where rhinos come from!
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Q: Jafarl said to Yusuf, “Training builds stamina�. What does this mean?
A: ____________________ _________________ __________
Q: Why do you think Yusuf saw himself differently in his reflection than he actually was?
A: ____________________ _________________ __________ Q: If your friend was feeling low or sad, what would you say to help them to become a champion?
A: _______________ _________
ou Know Did y ? * The full name of a rhino is a rhinoceros * There are 5 distinct species of rhinos in the world * rhinos are herbivores (planteating animals) * The skin of rhinos is 1.5cm to 5cm thick!
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The world map – according to the rhino! GREENLAND
NORTH AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
WHITE RHINO
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(AFRICA) * are actually grey! * called the ‘square-lipped’ rhino * their lips are designed for grazing.
SUMATRAN RHINO (Southern ASIA) * is reddish-brown in colour * is the smallest species of rhino * loves to eat mangos and figs.
EUROPE
ASIA
MIDDLE EAST AFRICA
GREATER ONE-HORNED RHINO (Southern ASIA) * is known as the ‘Indian’ rhino * is the largest of the rhinos * has a single horn.
AUSTRALASIA BLACK RHINO (AFRICA) * are actually dark grey! * they have two horns * also known as the ‘hooked lip’ rhino.
JAVAN RHINO (Western Indonesia) * dusky grey in colour * loves dense rainforest with plenty of mud and water!
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About the author and illustrator Errol Seaman Errol is a teacher, coach, author, motivational speaker and life-skills trainer to both adults and young people. As a former professional basketball player, Errol is passionate about helping young people to find their inner strength, purpose in life and to develop the skills for life long success. He currently resides in London. To find out more about Errol and his work, send him an email: mreseaman@gmail.com; or find him on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter (search for @thebigesea).
Sam Madeley Sam is a multi-talented illustrator, who has produced artwork for BC Enterprises, Warner Brothers, Neil Gaiman, Black Box Theatre Company, Peter Hogan and many more. He currently resides in Wales. A more comprehensive and varied overview of his work can be viewed found here: www.grendalunleashed.deviantart.com/gallery His recent self-published work can be found here: www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SamMadeley
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About our supporters Helping Rhinos Helping Rhinos is a UK based charitable organisation dedicated to preventing the rhinoceros from becoming extinct. It aims to achieve this by focusing on two key areas, best summarised by its mission statement: “Creating awareness of the issues threatening the global rhino population and raising funds to help protect them for future generations.� Since 2008 the number of rhinos killed by poachers has increased by around 50% year on year. If this trend continues, an animal which has walked on this planet for 50 million years will become extinct within the next 15 years. Helping Rhinos is committed to working in partnership with key strategic field projects that will make a difference in the fight against the poachers and ensuring all species of rhino can be enjoyed in their natural habitat by our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
www.helpingrhinos.org Children for Africa Africa is in a desperate need for a new generation of environmental warriors. A generation with new strategies, ideas, and knowledge about how to combat the disasters which the African wildlife and environment is facing. This generation are the children of today and the adults of tomorrow. Help arm your children with the knowledge, passion and love for nature. Your children are the key to preserving the environment for many generations to follow.
www.childrenforafrica.com
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