An African Fable
What’s the matter with Elephant?
By
Salome Byleveldt
Copyright Salome Byleveldt 2013
Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
~~***~~
Table of Contents:
Start Reading
End Paragraph
Other Books by Salome Byleveldt
~~***~~
“Where are we going?” Mouse was shouting at the top of his voice, but Young Elephant didn’t hear him.
“Where are we going, Young Elephant?” Mouse tried again. He was clinging onto Young Elephant’s ear, trying not to fall off. The herd of elephants was moving very fast. There was dust everywhere and the noise was very loud.
“Where are we going?” he screeched, and this time Young Elephant heard him.
“I don’t know, Mouse! I don’t know where we’re going, but all the elephants are going and I have to go too!”
“You must put me down, Young Elephant.” Mouse shouted. “I must go back home.”
“No, Mouse!” Young Elephant shouted above the noise. “It would be too dangerous to put you down. The other elephants won’t see you and they’ll run over you.”
“But I have to go back to my home!” cried Mouse. “You don’t know where we’re going and I cannot go there with you!”
“No, it is too dangerous,” Young Elephant repeated. “And besides, we have already travelled very far. We are too far away from home already. You won’t be able to get back on your own!”
“Ooh…!” Mouse was terrified. He was still clinging onto Young Elephant’s ear. His life depended on holding onto Young Elephant. If he fell off, he would land between the stampeding feet of the other elephants. “Ooh…!” was all he managed to say.
“Crawl into my ear, Mouse!” Young Elephant felt sorry for Mouse, it must be a very scary sight for a little bitty mouse. “You will be safe there!”
“Please crawl into my ear, Mouse!” Young Elephant insisted when Mouse remained where he was, rigid with fright. “Please, Mouse! You’re my best friend! I don’t want you to get hurt!”
Slowly, carefully, Mouse crawled into Young Elephant’s ear, so that he would be safe.
~~**~~
It was almost dark when the elephants finally slowed down to rest for the evening. Mouse peered out from under Young Elephant’s ear. “Where are we, Young Elephant?” he whispered.
“I don’t know, Mouse,” Young Elephant was trying to be brave. “I don’t know, but it is very far from home.”
“You still don’t know where we’re going? Or why we’re going there?” asked Mouse.
“No, Mouse. I am only a young elephant. I have many things that I must still learn.”
Mouse crawled out of Young Elephant’s ear and went to sit on top of his head. He looked around him. They were at a waterhole, and the elephants were milling around. Some of Young Elephant’s family was having a drink from the waterhole and others were stripping the leaves from the trees for supper. A little elephant was lying on his side, tired from the long distance they had to travel that day. A big elephant was standing close by, watching over him.
“There is Old Elephant!” said Mouse excitedly. “He will know! Let’s go ask him!”
~~**~~
Young Elephant and Mouse have been best friends ever since Young Elephant had saved Mouse’s life. That was at the time of the big fire. All the animals had to cross the river to get away from the fire. Mouse had almost drowned when he tried to cross the river, but Young Elephant had saved him and they had crossed the river just in time. Now they were best friends.
“Let’s go ask Old Elephant where we are going and why we are going there,” repeated Mouse.
“That is a good idea,” said Young Elephant and he walked over to where Old Elephant was resting under a very big tree.
“Hello, Old Elephant,” said Young Elephant and Mouse in unison, when they got close to Old Elephant. “Are you tired from all the walking we did today?” they enquired.
“Oh, hello my two young friends,” responded Old Elephant. “Yes, today was a bit tiring for me. I’m getting old now, you know. The old bones don’t move so quickly anymore.” But Old Elephant always had a twinkle in his eye, even when he was tired.
“Old Elephant,” Mouse squeaked. “Do you know where we are going? And why we are going?” Old Elephant looked at Young Elephant quizzically.
“You don’t know about migration, Young Elephant?” asked Old Elephant in return. Young Elephant was a little bit embarrassed. He hung his head a bit, so that Old Elephant wouldn’t see him blushing.
“I’m still a young one, Old Elephant. I have a lot of things that I must still learn!”
“Yes, but you are a smart one. You will learn it well,” Old Elephant said kindly.
“What is this migration? Is it what we’re doing now?” Young Elephant asked shyly.
“Yes, it is what we are doing now,” Old Elephant confirmed. “It is very dry. There aren’t enough leaves on the trees, and not enough grass for all of us to eat. The water in the river is very low. And you know that we have to eat lots of food, and we have to drink lots of water every day to stay strong.”
“Yes, you guys can really eat lots of food! And drink so much water!” Mouse exclaimed, rubbing his tiny stomach. “I can’t imagine where you put it all!” The elephants laughed at Mouse. He was only a little bitty mouse and he needed to eat only a tiny bit of food. He wouldn’t understand how much food they needed to keep their big bodies strong.
“So we are migrating, to find food and water,” Young Elephant understood now. “But where will we find it? Where are we going?” he asked.
“We have followed this route for very many seasons,” said Old Elephant. “Now we are moving south, to where there are big rivers that still have enough water for us and where there is enough food for us to eat. There, we will wait for the big rains to start and then we’ll know that we can go back home again.”
“Boy, but you are clever,” Mouse whistled through his teeth. “Where did you learn all this stuff, Old Elephant?” he asked.
“I learned this when I was a young one, little Mouse, when I was the same size as Young Elephant,” Old Elephant said. “Elephants live for very many seasons, and I had learned many things from the Old Ones then.”
“Please will you teach us all this? Please Old Elephant?” Young Elephant asked eagerly.
“If you walk with me every day,” Old Elephant smiled, “then I can teach you very many things.” With these kind words, Young Elephant looked up and laughed.
“Thank you, Old Elephant!” Young Elephant and Mouse said in unison. “We will walk with you everyday so that we can listen and learn!”
~~**~~
The elephants travelled for many days. Every day Young Elephant and Mouse would walk with Old Elephant. He showed them how to peel the bark from a tree, and which ones were the best. He showed them where the softest grass was. But Young Elephant and Mouse could see that Old Elephant was struggling to chew the hard grass, so they left the softest grass for him to eat.
Old Elephant showed them how to select the tastiest leaves on the trees. And when Young Elephant couldn’t reach, Old Elephant would help him to push the tree down, so that they could get to the good leaves.
“I wish I was as big as you are, Old Elephant,” Young Elephant said wistfully when Old Elephant had to once again help him to push down a tree. “Then I can push the tree down by myself!”
“It will happen, Young Elephant. Have patience!” Old Elephant laughed kindly. “I expect that once we’
ve returned home, you would be able to push the tree down by yourself.”
“You think so, Old Elephant?” Young Elephant asked eagerly. “You think I would be big enough to do that when we get back home?”
“Yes, Young Elephant, I know it. You won’t need my help to do it then, you would be big enough to do it by yourself.”
“I will show you then, Old Elephant,” Young Elephant grinned in anticipation. He was looking forward to that day when he could show Old Elephant that he could push down a tree by himself.
~~**~~
As the days went by the group of elephants slowed down. They were now closer to the big rivers and there were more food and water for the big group of elephants. Young Elephant and Mouse could see that Old Elephant was very glad that they had slowed down. The travelling was very tiring for Old Elephant.
One day, Mouse was sitting again on Young Elephant’s head. But since they were walking very slowly, Mouse had turned around and sat backwards on Young Elephant’s head. That way he could chat with Old Elephant, who was trailing behind them. Mouse’s tail dangled down, between Young Elephant’s eyes.
“Hey, Mouse!” Young Elephant cried. “Get your tail out of my eyes. I can’t see where I’m going!” But Mouse was not listening. He sat spellbound, looking out over Young Elephant’s back.
“Mouse! I can’t see where I’m going! Take your tail out of my eyes.” Young Elephant yelled.
“Look!” said Mouse suddenly. There was amazement in his voice.
“Where?” asked Young Elephant, and when Mouse did not answer, he asked “What is it, Mouse?”
“You have hair all over your body!” Mouse said in awe. At first Young Elephant didn’t know what to say, but then he heard Old Elephant laughing and he had to laugh too.
“Well, excuse me, little Mouse,” said Old Elephant, “but have you looked at yourself lately?”
“Yes, Mouse,” Young Elephant laughed, “who is the hairy one amongst us?” Mouse was a little bit embarrassed, but he was so fascinated by his surprise discovery, that the words just tumbled out of his mouth.
“I always thought you had no hair!” Old Elephant and Young Elephant both laughed out loud.
“That’s what I thought, really!” Mouse pretended that he didn’t hear their laughter. “But now that I look closely, I can see that you have hair all over your body!” And still the others laughed.
“Admittedly,” Mouse continued, “not as many as I have, and not as soft as mine. But there are hairs all over your bodies, and each one is hard and strong!” By now, Mouse was very embarrassed. So the words kept pouring out of his mouth.
“See, I can grab onto one hair with my one hand, and I can let go with the others. Look, I can stay on top!” Old Elephant was laughing again, but Young Elephant couldn’t see what Mouse was trying to show him. Mouse was on his back, and Young Elephant could not see his own back.
“It’s the same as if Monkey was hanging with one hand from a branch of the big tree!” Mouse tried to explain again. “He hangs on with one hand, while the others can dangle free!”
“Oh!” Young Elephant said. “Now I understand!” He and Old Elephant chuckled some more, and Mouse had the good sense to keep quiet, before he could say anything else that the others might think was funny.
~~**~~
“See, Old Elephant!” Young Elephant stood next to Old Elephant. “See how much I’ve grown!” Young Elephant was measuring himself against Old Elephant.
“When we started our migration, I was very small. But I’m getting big now!”
“So you do, Young Elephant. I can see that you’ve grown tall!”
As was their habit, Mouse was sitting on top of Young Elephant’s head, and every day they would walk with Old Elephant.
“Hmm, let me see,” said Mouse. He reached up and touched the bottom tip of Old Elephant’s ear.
“Yes, you have grown tall, Young Elephant,” Mouse confirmed. “When we started walking with Old Elephant, I could not reach Old Elephant’s ear, even if I stretched and stretched and stretched! But now I can easily reach it, see!” But of course Young Elephant could not see on top of his own head.
“Is that so, Old Elephant?” Young Elephant asked eagerly. “Can Mouse now touch your ear without having to stretch?”
“Yes, Young Elephant, you have grown tall!” Old Elephant said. “When we get back home, I will show you the big tree that I use to rub against when I need my back scratched. You can use it too!”
“You will? I can use your rubbing tree when we are home again?” Young Elephant was very excited. He loved to have his back scratched!
“Yes, Young Elephant. It is my favorite one, and you are now big enough to use it as well. It will be a perfect fit for you!” Old Elephant laughed as Young Elephant closed his eyes while he thought of the pleasure ahead of him. Mouse also laughed.
“I wish the rain would come, so that we could go back home,” Young Elephant said longingly.
~~**~~
That night it rained. It also rained the next day and right through the next night. And it also rained the day after that. The drought was broken!
At first it was all very exciting for Mouse and Young Elephant. They danced around in the rain and sang: “It’s raining, it’s raining. Hooray, hooray, it’s raining!”
But after a while, when everything was wet and soggy, Mouse crawled into Young Elephant’s ear, where it was almost dry. For the most part, Young Elephant just stood under a tree while the rain lashed out around them. All the elephants stood in small groups under the trees, trying to shelter from the rain.
They couldn’t see much around them, as the rain came down in sheets. But sometimes, when it lifted a little bit, Mouse and Young Elephant would walk to the next tree, to speak to the little group of elephants hiding there and to see if they could find Old Elephant. But then the rain would again come down hard, and they had to try to find some shelter.
On the third day, at last, the sun broke through the heavy clouds and everyone’s sprits lifted. It was time to go home! But first they had to eat, and since the grass was soft and juicy after the good rains, they wasted no time to fill their tummies.
“This will be good for Old Elephant,” Mouse said to Young Elephant. He was sitting on top of Young Elephant’s head. “It would be easier for him to chew the soft grass now.”
The big herd of elephants was scattered across the veld. Mouse and Young Elephant walked from one little group to the next.
“Have you seen Old Elephant?” they would ask, but nobody had seen Old Elephant. Not since the rain had started, anyway. Young Elephant was getting very worried. He walked faster and faster from one group to the next, but eventually he was frantically running around.
“Old Elephant knows this place very well, Young Elephant, he would be safe.” Mouse tried to calm down his friend, but Mouse was worried as well.
“There is a large group of elephants, Young Elephant,” Mouse pointed, “let’s go ask them.” Young Elephant ran to the group.
“Have you seen Old Elephant?” they shouted from afar. The elephants were all standing in a circle. There was something on the ground, in the centre of the circle. “We’re looking for Old Elephant!” But before they could get close to the group, Big Elephant broke away from the group and came to stand before Young Elephant.
“What’s happening, Big Elephant? Why are you standing in a circle? What is there, in the middle?” Young Elephant tried to look around Big Elephant and he tried to move closer. But Big Elephant wouldn’t let him through.
“No, Young Elephant, don’t look.” Big Elephant stopped him.
“Why, Big Elephant? What is there, on the ground?” But Big Elephant just shook his head.
“There, in the middle of the group, Big Elephant!” Young Elephant pointed with his trunk.
“No, Young Elephant! Don’t look! It will just upset you!” But then there was a gap in the group of elephants, and suddenl
y Young Elephant could see what was there, on the ground. It was Old Elephant, lying on the ground!
“Old Elephant, we were looking for you!” Young Elephant shouted as he dashed around Big Elephant. Mouse had to cling on tightly, so that he would not fall off and get trampled under the elephants’ feet. “Old Elephant, we can go home now!” Young Elephant cried as he broke through the group. He came to a standstill next to Old Elephant.
But something was wrong. Very wrong…
~~**~~
“What’s the matter with Old Elephant?” Young Elephant asked. “Why is he lying so still?” Before Big Elephant and the others could stop him, he moved even closer. With his trunk, he touched Old Elephant’s face softly. “Wake up, Old Elephant, we can go home now,” he said. But Old Elephant didn’t open his eyes.
“What’s the matter with Old Elephant?” Young Elephant asked again. He pushed Old Elephant, trying to get him to stand up. But Old Elephant did not move.
“What’s the matter with Old Elephant?” By now Young Elephant was very worried. But before he could push Old Elephant again, Big Elephant had stopped him.
“Old Elephant will not wake up again, Young One,” he said softly. Young Elephant looked up, and then he saw the expression in the other elephants’ eyes. They all looked very sad.
“What do you mean that Old Elephant will not wake up again? He cannot sleep all the time! He has to wake up so that we can go home!”
“Old Elephant had died during the night, Young One,” Big Elephant said gently.
“Died? What is that?” Young Elephant wanted to know, but suddenly Mouse understood what had happened.
“He had died, Young Elephant,” Mouse whispered. “He is dead.”
“What does that mean, Mouse?” Young Elephant was bewildered.
“He will not wake up again, or walk home with us. Old Elephant is dead.” Mouse said gently.
“He will not walk with us again? Never again?” But Mouse couldn’t speak to answer him. He could only shake his head sadly.
Young Elephant stood silently for a while. He looked away into the far distance, in the direction that they would travel when they’d go back home. Then he walked a little distance away, in the direction that would take them home. He missed his home. He wanted to be there now.