Ets. Elephant in a Well

Elephant in a Well is a children's book by Marie Hall Ets, with art by the author, published in 1972. It is available at the Internet Archive.

When I Googled to see if there was a YouTube recording of this book, I did not find a recording, but I did find a true account of an elephant trapped in a well in Kerala. It is all very cute in a book, but very scary in real life!

The elephant has been playing with a clothesline, so when the other animals come and try to pull him out, there is something for them to tug on other than his trunk, thank goodness! The story is told cumulatively, very much in the style of "the big turnip," with the animals joining in one by one to help the elephant: horse, cow, goat, pig, lamb, and dog. They cannot do it. Then a mouse comes and offers to help, and they all laugh at the mouse, but when the mouse joins in the effort, they succeed! 

It's a very sweet and simple story, although the farm animal cast doesn't really match the elephant. If I were to retell the story, I would have their be either an Indian or an African elephant, and then I would choose a cast of Indian or African animals to feature in the story.