“Please, both of you, go and see if you can help!” my mother said.

We hesitated for a split second and then we both started running. I wasn’t sure what either of us was supposed to do but I did want to see what was happening up close.

The elephant loped past the pool, and the whole procession—mahout, mother, and two resort staff—were like a little parade for the people in the lounge chairs. Nimbly the animal negotiated between the people and the chairs. For a split second I thought it was aiming for the salad bar beside the pool, but it bypassed that as well. It kept moving. It wasn’t running, just moving at that same steady, quick walk, and we were gaining.

It was headed straight for the door to the lobby, but it made a quick right instead and trotted along the back of the hotel and then up the side, out of sight. We ran faster and rounded the corner as well.

It looked as though the elephant might be slowing down. We kept running, closing the gap quickly. Finally, halfway up the hotel lawn, in the shade of a tree, the elephant came to a stop. The mahout held the elephant in place and my father and I rushed up to help. One of the resort staff grabbed the little girl, lifted her down, and handed her over to her mother. The girl seemed upset, but she started to really cry only when her mother began to wail.

The mahout and the resort staff were yelling at one another in Thai. The mahout then began speaking to the mother, trying to explain and apologize. She seemed too upset to listen. He tried to give her back her money, but she pushed his hand away. Instead, she started to yell at him, which caused her daughter to cry even louder.

I felt sorry for everybody, but especially the elephant. I hoped it wouldn’t be punished for what it did. It just didn’t want to be on the beach. It wanted to be on the grass in the shade. My father—as always was trying to calm everybody down, and it seemed to be working.

“The important thing is that she’s fine,” he said to the mother. “How about if you two go inside, and I’m sure the resort will provide the biggest ice cream sundae in the world—free, right?”

The two staff members nodded their heads enthusiastically.

My father dropped to one knee. “What’s your name?” he asked the girl.

“Sophie.”

“Would you like some ice cream, Sophie?”

She wiped away some tears with the back of her hand and nodded.

“And I’m sure they’ll get you a sundae as well,” my father suggested, looking up at the woman.

“Forget the ice cream,” she said. “I’d like something a little stronger.”

“I’m sure that could be arranged.” He turned to the staff. “Right?”

The two of them practically tripped over each other offering to help, and then they led the woman and her daughter away and into the hotel lobby.