When Keb was born, everyone knew he would be special. He could be trained early. Keb knew he would be the greatest circus elephant ever. His mother, Isabis, told him to follow instructions. "Keb, listen to what Ben tells you, and you'll do just fine. No one will ever top you."

"I know, Mom. I just want to be the best."

"You will. It's almost time for me to go on. You stay here and behave."

"Okay."

The crowd inside the tent is filled with excitement. This is the first time that Gooligan's Circus has been in town. The people cheer as the clowns enter from the side in their tiny car, and everyone laughs as one after another gets out of the car. Soon there are twenty clowns dancing around spraying unsuspecting audience members with water. "Look!" Everybody turns their heads just in time to see a clown running away from another clown carrying a bucket of water. The one with the bucket is soaking wet and looks very angry. The dry clown runs up into the stands and tries to find a place to hide. Finally, he spots the perfect hiding place--a man sitting with his two children near the center of the stands. The clown rushes behind the man. The wet clown races up the steps and stops in front of the man. The children laugh as the dry clown pokes his head out from behind the man and sticks his tongue out at the wet clown. The wet clown sees him and tosses the water at him. He misses and soaks the man. Everyone laughs as the two clowns bow and run away.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, please direct your attention to the center circle!" Everyone looks as Isabis and the rest of the elephants enter the tent. Keb watches with amazement from the side entrance. Isabis leads the elephants into the center ring where Ben is standing. Ben instructs them to form a circle, and they do, each holding on to the tail of the elephant in front of them. Isabis breaks the circle and moves to the center and stands on her front legs. The audience claps and cheers. Keb is so proud of his mother. She turns her head and looks at him, and he smiles at her. She turns her attention back to the audience. She grabs Ben with her trunk and tosses him into the air then catches him. Isabis stands on her hind legs and one elephant after another does the same. Everyone cheers as the elephants take a bow. Isabis heads to the side door, and the other elephants follow.

The show continues as Ben leads Isabis, Keb, and the other elephants to their area. When Ben leaves, Keb tells his mother how much he loved the show. He always loves the shows and can't wait until he's old enough to be in them too. "Mom, that was great! How long will it be before I can do that?"

"Oh, Keb, it won't be long. You have to learn a few more tricks before you can be in the show."

"What else do I have to learn? Tell me! Tell me!"

"Well, let's see, you have to learn how to stand on your hind legs and your front legs. You have to get used to having someone riding on your back, and you have to learn how to act in front of the audience. It's very important to put on a good show every time. It takes a lot of practice, so you'll have to work very hard."

"I will, Mom. You know I will. I'll be the best elephant performer this circus has ever seen!"

"Of course you will, Keb. I know that you'll work hard and practice every day but now it's time to go to sleep. I have another show tomorrow afternoon, and you have to practice in the morning."

"Okay. Good night, Mom."

"Good night, my sweet one."

Bright and early the next day, Keb wakes up and begins training with Ben. He tries to balance on his front legs, but he just can't do it. He tries to balance on his hind legs but falls after a few seconds. He gets scared when Ben sits on him. "That's enough for today, Keb," Ben says after an hour of practicing. Frustrated, Keb walks back to the elephant area.

"How did practice go today?" asked Isabis.

"It was awful, Mom. I couldn't do anything. Every time I tried a trick, I just fell, and it scared me to have Ben sit on me. I don't think I'll ever be good enough to be a circus elephant."

"Now, Keb, having a bad practice doesn't mean that you will never be good. I had a lot of bad practices when I was training to be a circus elephant. I fell all the time, and I had no idea how to act around people. I was so scared."

"But Mom, you're the greatest!"

"That's because I worked hard and learned how to do the tricks correctly. Keb, you will learn too. You just have to keep practicing."

"I will."

"Good. I need to go now and get ready for the performance this afternoon. You can come along if you want."

"No. I think I'll stay here."

After his mother left, Keb began practicing on his own. He tried standing on his hind legs but fell after only a few seconds. He tried balancing on his front legs, but he just couldn't do it. "Oh, I'll never get it." Annoyed and tired, Keb sat down and began to pout. He didn't go to that afternoon's show because he was so upset with himself.

Isabis returned to find Keb moping around and asked him what was wrong. "I just don't think I'll ever get it. I try and try and try, and I just keep falling. I give up!"

"Keb, what did we talk about this morning? You know you can't give up if you want to be the best. It takes a lot of hard work, and you'll get it if you keep trying. But if you give up, you're only hurting yourself because you'll never know what you could do."

Keb lowers his head and tells his mother he's going for a walk. He walks all around the elephant area, thinking about what his mother said. He knows she's right, but all that practicing is hard. It just irritates him and makes him not want to do it anymore.

He sees Ben and walks over to him. "Hi Keb! Do you want to practice some more before dinner? I have a time if you want to." Keb decides that he might as well try again and steps on the bucket which he uses to balance himself. He raises himself up onto his hind legs and doesn't fall. "Great job! You're balancing yourself!" Keb is so excited that he falls over. He gets up and races to his mother to tell her.

"Mom, guess what!"

"What?"

"I balanced myself on my back legs!"

"That's great! You now know how to do one of the big tricks, but you have many more left to learn. Remember to keep practicing."

"I will. I'm going to practice some more right now."