The War Elephant

Polly is a one-of-a-kind Elephant from the foothills of the Atlas mountains . She has been at the care of Hannibal , once a farmer , now king of the realm . Hannibal found her orphaned in the plains surrounding the mountains while on his way to the city for trading goods . He took her to his hut and took care of her , fed her , gave her a bath and built her a penn to live in . As Polly grew up , so did her appetite . Hannibal could not even pay the wages of his employees now , so he requested the king to recruit Polly into the army . Hannibal , Polly and Diametrix , the wise owl were now enlisted as the new elephant unit of the kingdom .

Finally , one day the emperor called Hannibal to aide him in battle . He fought on the elephant side by side the king’s chariot . Polly was fierce at melee and no body could come near them . Hannibal shot spears and arrows from the top , together they were an unbeatable force . In a bitter twist of fate the king was shot in the eye and died in battle , but Hannibal continued the battle . He finally defeated the enemy and returned to the town victorious . The whole kingdom rejoiced at the victory although they were sad for the king . Since the king had no descendants they declared Hannibal the new ruler of the lands .