The Travels of Babar

The story

King Babar and Queen Celeste are ready to leave on their honeymoon. Their great yellow balloon is already floating above the land of the elephants.

“Goodbye! See you soon!” the elephants call as the balloon slowly rises.

Arthur, Babar's young cousin, waves his cap so wildly that it nearly flies away. Old Cornelius watches the balloon grow smaller and smaller with a worried look.

“I only hope nothing happens to them,” he mutters.

High in the sky, Babar and Celeste enjoy the view. The sea sparkles beneath them. They see a city with white houses, a harbour full of boats and mountains in the distance.

“What a wonderful journey,” says Celeste.

“Look,” says Babar. “The great blue sea.”

But while they are far out above the water, the weather changes. The wind grows stronger. Dark clouds gather, and suddenly the balloon is caught in a fierce storm.

Babar and Celeste shiver and hold on to the basket with all their strength. The balloon is tossed from side to side and sinks dangerously close to the waves.

Just as it is about to fall into the sea, one final gust blows it towards an island. It crashes onto the beach.

“Are you hurt?” Babar asks at once.

“No,” says Celeste. “Are you?”

“No. Look, we are safe.”

They leave the broken balloon behind and carry their bags to a sheltered place. In a quiet corner of the island, they take off their wet clothes. Celeste hangs them on a line between two trees. Babar lights a fire and cooks some rice.

They put up a tent and share a bowl of warm, sweet rice soup.

“We are not doing too badly on this island, really,” says Babar.

After their meal, Babar goes to explore. Celeste stays by the tent and falls fast asleep.

A group of islanders discovers her. They have never seen an elephant before and think she might be a dangerous animal. Very carefully, they tie her up. Then they find the clothes on the washing line and put them on, laughing.

Celeste wakes with a start. She does not understand what is happening and is afraid she will never be free again.

Then Babar appears. He charges towards the group as fast as he can. Celeste manages to free herself, and together they chase everyone away.

Some of the islanders try to stand their ground, but when they see the two huge elephants rushing towards them, they run too.

After all the commotion, Babar and Celeste sit down beside the sea. At that moment, a whale surfaces to breathe.

Babar stands up and calls, “Good afternoon, Mrs Whale. I am Babar, king of the elephants, and this is my wife, Celeste. Our balloon crashed. Could you please take us away from this island?”

“Pleased to meet you,” says the whale. “Climb onto my back quickly. I am on my way to visit my family in the cold northern ocean, but I can drop you somewhere along the way. Hold on tightly!”

Babar and Celeste climb onto her broad back. The whale swims across the waves for many hours.

A day later, she is tired and stops beside a small reef. Just then, a school of little fish swims past.

“I will eat a few of those,” says the whale. “I will be right back.”

She dives beneath the water and swims after the fish.

But the whale does not return. While eating, she completely forgets that Babar and Celeste are waiting on the reef.

“We were better off on the island,” sobs Celeste. “What will happen to us now?”

Babar tries to comfort her.

For hours, they sit on the small rock without food or drinking water. Then they see smoke in the distance. A great ship is approaching, with three funnels.

Babar and Celeste shout and wave their trunks and arms. At first, nobody sees them. Then a passenger points towards the reef.

A lifeboat is lowered. The two elephants are brought aboard to loud cheers.

A week later, the ship enters a large harbour. All the passengers go ashore. Babar and Celeste want to leave too, but their crowns were lost in the storm. Nobody believes that they are a king and queen.

The captain locks them in the ship's stable.

“We sleep on straw and eat hay as if we were donkeys,” grumbles Babar. “I have had enough. I am going to break down that door.”

“Wait a moment,” says Celeste. “I hear someone coming. Let us stay calm. Perhaps he will help us.”

The captain appears with Fernando, a famous circus director and animal trainer.

“Here are two elephants for your circus,” says the captain. “I cannot keep them on my ship.”

Fernando takes Babar and Celeste with him. At the circus, they have to practise. Babar plays the trumpet and Celeste dances in the ring.

Meanwhile, something has gone wrong at home. Arthur has played a naughty trick on Rataxes, the king of the rhinoceroses. While Rataxes was asleep, Arthur tied a firecracker to his tail. The bang made the rhinoceros leap high into the air.

Arthur laughed so hard that he nearly fell over.

Rataxes was furious. Cornelius apologised, but the rhinoceros king refused to listen.

“You have not heard the last of this!” he shouted. “I will punish Arthur and show the entire land of the elephants who is in charge.”

Without Babar, Cornelius feels powerless.

At the circus, Babar and Celeste keep dreaming of home. One day, the circus travels to the city where Babar used to live. That night, they escape from the tent and go to the old lady's house.

Babar finds the way without any trouble. He rings the bell.

The old lady wakes up, puts on her dressing gown and steps onto the balcony.

“Who is there?” she calls.

“It is us, Babar and Celeste!”

The old lady runs downstairs. She is so happy that she can hardly let them go. Babar and Celeste tell her their whole adventure.

“We are not going back to the circus,” says Babar. “Soon we will travel home to Cornelius and Arthur.”

First, the old lady makes sure they get plenty of rest. She gives Celeste a clean nightdress and Babar a warm pair of pyjamas. After a long sleep, they have breakfast in bed.

At the circus, Fernando discovers that his elephants have disappeared. Clowns, circus workers and police officers search everywhere, but Babar and Celeste are nowhere to be found.

Together with the old lady, they drive to the station. Before returning to the land of the elephants, they rest for a few days in the mountains. They ski in the snow and breathe the fresh air.

Then they continue by aeroplane. The old lady travels with them because Babar finally wants to show her the great forest.

When the aeroplane lands, Babar and Celeste are shocked. Where are Cornelius, Arthur and the other elephants? Broken trees lie everywhere. The flowers and birds have disappeared.

Then they find the elephants. Many of them are injured.

“What happened here?” asks Babar.

Cornelius explains that Rataxes and his rhinoceroses came to capture Arthur. There was a battle, and the elephants lost.

“That is terrible,” says Babar. “But we will not give up.”

Celeste and the old lady care for the injured. The old lady knows exactly what to do because she used to work as a nurse.

Babar returns to the camp with Cornelius and the elephants. The rhinoceroses are already preparing another attack.

Then Babar has an idea.

He asks the strongest elephants to stand with their backs to the enemy. On their rumps, he paints enormous eyes. He paints their tails bright red and makes a huge mouth around each one. Arthur works as hard as he can, making great wigs from leaves and grass.

When the rhinoceroses attack, they see a row of enormous, strange monsters appear above the hill. They freeze in terror.

At exactly the right moment, the elephants charge down the hill, roaring loudly.

The rhinoceroses drop everything and run away. Rataxes and his general, Pamir, are captured. Ashamed, they apologise.

“The war is over!” cry the elephants. “Long live Babar!”

The next day, Babar and Celeste receive new crowns and splendid clothes. In front of all the elephants, they thank the old lady for her help. They give her singing birds and a little monkey.

After the celebration, Babar, Celeste and the old lady sit together beneath the palm trees.

“And what will you do now?” asks the old lady.

“I want to be a good king,” says Babar. “And if you stay with us, you can help me make all the elephants happy.”