READ-ALOUD

Little Eddie One Trunk

A Reading A–Z Read-Aloud Book
Vowel E • Word Count: 770 Little Eddie
One Trunk

Written by Joe Slade • Illustrated by A. Spencer

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Little Eddie WORDS USED IN THIS BOOK
High utility words:
1–100 when, was, some, of, the, were, and, but,

One Trunk
all, a, you, see, had, one, he, in, his, they, how, to, be,
with, my, I, that, him, as, up, of, them, not, me, do, an,
it, have, from, can, how, said, she, would, for, what, are,
about, come, came, big, there, out, so, we, your
101–200 two, little, play, could, ran, went, saw, must,
small, here
E words: when, Edward, elephants, extraordinary,
everyone, bell, peppers, eggplants, before, let, them,
kept, never, when, went, Eddie, Emma, except, never,
bent, led, ten, ever, every, end, met, explained, question,
extra, tell, friend

Little Eddie One Trunk

A Read-Aloud Book
© 2003 Learning Page, Inc.
Written by Joe Slade
Illustrated by A. Spencer

ReadingA–ZTM
Written by Joe Slade © Learning Page, Inc.

Illustrated by A. Spencer All rights reserved.

Learning Page
1630 E. River Road #121
Tucson, AZ 85718

www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com
“When Edward was born, some of the

elephants were surprised and some of the

elephants laughed, but all of the elephants

agreed, Edward was a very extraordinary

elephant indeed.

“You see, Edward had only one trunk. He had

only one trunk, when all the other elephants

in his village had two trunks. Everyone knew

that elephants had two trunks.

“It’s my fault,” cried Edward’s mother. “I

“Poor Edward,” they thought. “How very sad
didn’t eat enough bell peppers and eggplants
to be born with only one trunk.”
before he was born. Everyone knows that

bell peppers and eggplants build strong

trunks.”

“Don’t worry,” comforted Edward’s dad.

“We’ll love him just as much, even though

he looks odd with only one trunk.”

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As Edward grew up, many of the other

young elephants teased him. They called

him “Little Eddie One Trunk.” Some of the

mean youngsters chased him and wouldn’t

let him play with them. They ran after him

and sang:

Little Eddie One Trunk,

He’s got one instead of two.

Little Eddie One Trunk,

He’s not like me and you.

Edward was sad. He didn’t like being

different. His mother told him he was

special and shouldn’t be sad. He could do

everything the other elephants could do.

His dad told him he was an extraordinary

elephant. Even though he had only one

trunk, it was bigger and stronger than any

of the other elephants’ trunks.

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Edward grew up to be a fine-looking One day, he had walked all morning. He was

elephant. But he didn’t have a girlfriend. deep in the jungle when he heard a splishing

None of the young girl elephants wanted a and a splashing. He went to investigate.
boyfriend with only one trunk. Edward kept
You can imagine how surprised he was
to himself. He took long walks in the jungle
when he saw a beautiful young girl elephant
and often found himself far, far from his
playing in a river. And can you imagine how
village. But he always found his way home.
double-surprised he was to see that she only
An elephant never forgets.
had one trunk?

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“Hello,” he said. “My name’s Edward. They
call me Eddie One Trunk.”
“Oh, hi!” she replied. “I’m Emma. Why would
they call you Eddie One Trunk?”
“Eddie’s short for Edward,” answered Edward.
“Not that bit,” said Emma. “Why would they
call you ‘one trunk’?”
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“Because all elephants, except me and um . . .
um . . . you, have two trunks, not one,”
Edward said shyly.
“What are you talking about?” said Emma.
“I’ve never seen an elephant with two
trunks.”
“Edward was shocked. He was puzzled. His
neck bent back, and his mouth hung open
in disbelief.
“Come with me. I’ll show you,” said Emma.
“Emma led Edward through the jungle.

In about ten minutes, they came to a big

clearing. And there before him were more

elephants than Edward had ever seen

before. And guess what? Every single one

of them had only one trunk.

“I must be dreaming,” said Edward.

“This is no dream,” laughed Emma. “Come

and meet my mom and dad. They’re at the

other end of the village.”

“Edward met Emma’s mother and father and

explained to them that all the elephants in

his small herd had two trunks.

“Emma’s parents broke out in laughter.

“Elephants with two trunks. That’s so funny,”

said Emma’s dad.

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“Edward was so insistent, Emma’s mother

told the chief elephant about Edward’s

story.

“It’s time we left here anyway,” said the chief.

“We can check out this youngster’s story as

we move east.”

“Edward led a huge trail of one-trunked

elephants through the jungle toward his

village. When the elephants in Edward’s village saw

all the one-trunked elephants, they huddled

together in fear. “Don’t be afraid,” said

Edward. “These elephants are friendly.”

Edward’s father stepped forward. “Why

have they all got only one trunk?” he asked.

All of Edward’s new friends laughed so

loudly that the ground shook.

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“Their leader answered the question. “All “Edward looked at Emma and said shyly,

elephants have one trunk, except for your “If they’ll let me.”

group. You are the only ones with an extra

“Of course—we’d love to have you join us,”
trunk. You are the extraordinary ones, not
said Emma’s dad.
Edward,” he said.
“Come back in a couple of days,” shouted
“Edward introduced his parents to Emma.
Edward’s dad, as the trail of one-trunked
His mom could tell that Edward liked
elephants started their journey east.
Emma. “Would you like to travel with your

new friend for a couple of days?” asked

Edward’s mom.

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