An Elephant's Best Friend

## Stats

**An Elephant's Best Friend** is the 9th episode of the series *Babar* that aired on May 28, 1989.

## Summary

Flora is upset that her goldfish left her. Babar sits with her on the steps as he was once in her same boots, but not with a goldfish, rather a warthog named Reginald that he had as a pet long when he was young.

It began in one of the worst times, when Rataxes had made a roadblock and held onto the pomegranates, which are important for squashers or juice makers and even other things in the kingdom. Babar insists that they don't make a deal with Rataxes as he doesn't want to reward someone stealing from them. At Rataxes' palace which is full of pomegranates, Lady Rataxes enters and says it is time to walk Reginald, her warthog pet. She wants Lord Rataxes to do it so they both can become best friends. He ends up having Basil to do it while he walks away, until he has enough of the warthog once and for all and demands Basil to take him far into the jungle. He follows his orders and throws a stick then leaves him behind. Babar walks down the path still pondering what to do about the pomegranate outrage, and finds the pet.

They both become best friends automatically. Reginald runs into the palace and makes a mess with the paperwork regarding the blockade. Meanwhile, Lady Rataxes is dismayed that Reginald is missing, and demands her husband to go find him. Basil insists that they trade the pomegranates for Reginald, but Rataxes wants it all and will steal both things. As Babar and Reginald play in the garden, they try sneaking up on him in bushes but Reginald chases them until they land in a fountain. Babar brings them in and questions why they are there, which Basil replies that Rataxes wants to talk about the blockade, and offers to trade them for a thousand feathers. Babar is still disagreed to do this, as he doesn't want to do no deals, but he decides to relent. Considering Basil made it up on the spot, he later claims that this plot can be used as a distraction to get Reginald back from Babar.

As Babar gets Reginald ready for a bath, he runs off. Rataxes comes back dressed in Lady Rataxes' outfit and nabs the warthog when he tricks him with a biscuit, but when he is put on a leash, Rataxes is dragged into the big mountain of a thousand feathers that has been made. Soon, Rataxes gets thrown into the fountain where Babar sets up the bath. Basil then changes the deal, and claims that Rataxes asked for fuchsia feathers. Babar argues with this. Cornelius has a private talk with Babar and tells him that he must put aside his personal feelings and set what is best for the people, as Reginald is to blame too. Rataxes and Basil manage to get Reginald after he bites them disguised as guards, until they fall in the new feather pile. Rataxes wants the warthog now and will lift the blockade if he gets Reginald back. Babar says that if you give a bully one thing he'll always want more, so he refuses to give Rataxes Reginald, or any of the feathers. Suddenly, Lady Rataxes makes it over and Babar learns that it is her pet after all. With a goodbye, Reginald is traded in exchange for the blockades to be lifted, which is something Lord Rataxes doesn't want to do but Lady Rataxes makes him do it nonetheless. Even to the current day, Babar still misses Reginald, but tells Flora that it's best thinking about the good times you've had with a friend you loved rather than thinking about them being gone.