Nicholas was a mouse and his friend Nathan was an elephant. They went on a trip to see Nicholas' cousin Henri. They were going to ride in Henry's hot air balloon. Henry was not happy that Nathan was there. He thought Nathan was too big to be in the hot air balloon. Nicholas insisted so they all went flying. When they ran out of gas, Nathan used his big trunk to blow air in the balloon to keep them from crashing. Henry then liked Nathan because he had saved them. The story would teach children that they should not decide they don't like someone because they are different. It is possible they could help you or save you from danger sometime.