One sunny afternoon, Tenacious Tino and his teammates started their first league match. They were playing against a tough team. Their opponents scored three goals, while they only managed two, so they lost the match.
Tenacious Tino was very angry with his teammates and even considered dropping out. However, since he was the best player on the team, he decided to stay. He immediately started making a plan for the next match, determined to lead his team to victory.
In the second match, they lost again, and Tenacious Tino finally decided to drop out. When he got home, he found that there was someone or some kind of animal in his bedroom. To his surprise, the animal could talk.
“Why did you drop out?” the animal asked.
“Who are you?” Tenacious Tino questioned.
The animal replied, “I’m an elephant, and they call me the Encouraging Elephant.” Then it continued, “You need to practice really hard, and then your team will be able to win.”
Tenacious Tino said, “But my teammates are so terrible.”
The elephant responded, “You should encourage them instead of insulting them.”
“But I just want to win,” Tenacious Tino said, feeling depressed.
“Listen to me. Train hard, and you will succeed, Tenacious Tino.”
Tenacious Tino listened to the elephant’s advice and started training hard for two hours every day.
After that, he returned to the league matches. The surprising thing was that they won the next match 5-0, and every goal was scored by Tenacious Tino. When Tenacious Tino returned to his bedroom, the Encouraging Elephant was waiting for him.
The elephant said, “See, just never give up, and then you will succeed.”
Tenacious Tino replied, “Thank you.”
A few days later, in the fourth match, they didn’t play very well. They only scored one goal and almost lost. Another piece of bad news was that they were going to play against the best team in the very next game.
One day, Tenacious Tino was practicing football and saw the Encouraging Elephant watching him. It was almost 6 o’clock, and there was no one on the football field except Tenacious Tino and his new friend, the elephant.
When they went home, Tenacious Tino said, “I’m afraid to play in the next match.” “Why?” the elephant asked.
“Because I’m afraid of losing,” Tenacious Tino said softly.
“Don’t be afraid. Even if you lose, it doesn’t matter. It’s not the World Cup after all.” “But I still don’t want to lose,” Tenacious Tino said.
“Get some rest and see what happens tomorrow,” the Encouraging Elephant said. Tenacious Tino listened to it and got some rest.
The very next day, there was good news. They won the match 3-2.
Tenacious Tino was extremely happy.
After a few months, the league came to an end. The astonishing news was that Tenacious Tino and his team won the league championship. Tenacious Tino was overjoyed and wanted to thank the Encouraging Elephant. However, during those months, the Encouraging Elephant had turned back into a normal elephant.
This story teaches us that as long as we never give up, we will achieve success. When we encounter difficult situations, we should persist and do our best.