the elephant's child story

Discover more than 3,800 classic tales plus new stories by fairy tale fans. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner." When the flies bit him he broke off the branch of a tree and used it as fly-whisk; and he made himself a new, cool, slushy-squshy mud-cap whenever the sun was hot. But it was really the Crocodile, O Best Beloved, and the Crocodile winked one eye—like this! ‘You couldn’t have done that with a mere-smear nose. It's the story of how the elephant got his nose. He asked his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, why her eyes were red, and his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, spanked him with her broad, broad hoof; and he asked his hairy uncle, the Baboon, why melons tasted ! The Elephant's Child sat there for three days waiting for his nose to shrink. ‘That is odd,’ said the Elephant’s Child, ‘because my father and my mother, and my uncle and my aunt, not to mention my other aunt, the Hippopotamus, and my other uncle, the Baboon, have all spanked me for my ‘satiable curtiosity—and I suppose this is the same thing. That very next morning, when there was nothing left of the Equinoxes, because the Precession had preceded according to precedent, this 'satiable Elephant's Child took a hundred pounds of bananas (the little short red kind), and a hundred pounds of sugar-cane (the long purple kind), and seventeen melons (the greeny-crackly kind), and said to all his dear families, "Good-bye. And he lived in Africa, and he filled all Africa with his ‘satiable curtiosities. It was also useful for picking up litter and for spanking his relatives when he got home. So Light, So Heavy, Susanne Strasser. Then that bad Elephant's Child spanked all his dear families for a long time, till they were very warm and greatly astonished. Then that bad Elephant’s Child spanked all his dear families for a long time, till they were very warm and greatly astonished. The Elephant’s Child resisted, helped by the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, but his nose was pulled out into a long trunk before the Crocodile let go. The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked him if she could be his friend. When they came back nobody spanked anybody any more; and ever since that day, O Best Beloved, all the Elephants you will ever see, besides all those that you won’t, have trunks precisely like the trunk of the ‘satiable Elephant’s Child. The rest of the time he picked up the melon rinds that he had dropped on his way to the Limpopo--for he was a Tidy Pachyderm. Then he uncurled his trunk and knocked two of his dear brothers head over heels. ", "'Scuse me," said the Elephant's Child, "but I should not like it at all.". At the end of the third day a fly came and stung him on the shoulder, and before he knew what he was doing he lifted up his trunk and hit that fly dead with the end of it. When he wanted grass he plucked grass up from the ground, instead of going on his knees as he used to … And the white-haired man and the three others stood still and laughed at the elephant with happy faces; for they knew in their hearts they were not guilty and they thought the elephant … "What are you doing that for?" ‘Well,’ said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, ‘you will find that new nose of yours very useful to spank people with.’, ‘Thank you,’ said the Elephant’s Child, ‘I’ll remember that; and now I think I’ll go home to all my dear families and try.’. And still he was full of 'satiable curtiosity! Read the next short story; The Enlightenments of Pagett, M.P. When he wanted fruit to eat he pulled fruit down from a tree, instead of waiting for it to fall as he used to do. This is the way Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snakes always talk. "'Vantage number two!" All Rights Reserved. And the Crocodile floundered into the water, making it all creamy with great sweeps of his tail, and he pulled, and pulled, and pulled. ", "'Scuse me," said the Elephant's Child, "but could you kindly tell me what he has for dinner?". But it was really the Crocodile, O Best Beloved, and the Crocodile winked one eye--like this! In the High and Far-Off Times the Elephant, O Best Beloved, had no trunk. said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. She sends ‘em abroad on her own affairs, From the second she opens her eyes— One million Hows, two million Wheres, And seven million Whys! Now how do you feel about being spanked again? Will you please tell me what you have for dinner? He had only a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side; but he couldn’t pick up things with it. Fairytalez.com » Rudyard Kipling » The Elephant's Child. Sign in. just so, and his hairy uncle, the Baboon, spanked him with his hairy, hairy paw. Morgan Freeman reads this story, accompanied by music by Taj Mahal. It’s in that old deserted village you passes through. Return to the Rudyard Kipling Home Page, or . I absolutely adore Rudyard Kipling, and the Elephant's Child is one of my all time favorite childrens books. When he wanted grass he plucked grass up from the ground, instead of going on his knees as he used to do. Never has there been a more satisfying rendering of this "Just So" story, which explains what the world was like "in the beginning of years when the world was new and all...". He went from Graham’s Town to Kimberley, and from Kimberley to Khama’s Country, and from Khama’s Country he went east by north, eating melons all the time, till at last he came to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, precisely as Kolokolo Bird had said. The Forest Bride: The Story of a Little Mouse Who Was a Princess, Little Saddleslut (Greek version of Cinderella), Little Red-Cap (Little Red Riding Hood, Grimms' Version), The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds. The rest of the time he picked up the melon rinds that he had dropped on his way to the Limpopo—for he was a Tidy Pachyderm. At last things grew so exciting that his dear families went off one by one in a hurry to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to borrow new noses from the Crocodile. Then the Crocodile winked the other eye, and lifted half his tail out of the mud; and the Elephant’s Child stepped back most politely, because he did not wish to be spanked again. You are hurtig be!’, Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake scuffled down from the bank and said, ‘My young friend, if you do not now, immediately and instantly, pull as hard as ever you can, it is my opinion that your acquaintance in the large-pattern leather ulster’ (and by this he meant the Crocodile) ‘will jerk you into yonder limpid stream before you can say Jack Robinson.’. So the Elephant’s Child went home across Africa frisking and whisking his trunk. For, O Best Beloved, you will understand that the Crocodile had pulled it out into a really truly trunk, same as all Elephant's have today. They were very glad to see him, and immediately said, "Come here and be spanked for your 'satiable curtiosity. And still he was full of ‘satiable curtiosity! ‘I think, said the Crocodile—and he said it between his teeth, like this—‘I think to-day I will begin with Elephant’s Child!’, At this, O Best Beloved, the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, ‘Led go! He went from Graham's Town to Kimberley, and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's Country he went east by north, eating melons all the time, till at last he came to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, precisely as Kolokolo Bird had said. By and by, when that was finished, he came upon Kolokolo Bird sitting in the middle of a wait-a-bit thornbush, and he said, "My father has spanked me, and my mother has spanked me; all my aunts and uncles have spanked me for my 'satiable curtiosity; and still I want to know what the Crocodile has for dinner! It covers the history of an incident that took place in the year that Prophet Muhammad (S) was born. ‘How would you like to spank somebody?’ said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. One fine morning in the middle of the Precession of the Equinoxes this 'satiable Elephant's Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. When he felt lonely walking through Africa he sang to himself down his trunk, and the noise was louder than several brass bands. ", "I got a new one from the Crocodile on the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River," said the Elephant's Child. Then the Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the Crocodile’s musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his little nose, which up to that very week, day, hour, and minute, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful. "How would you like to spank somebody?" said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. "It is," said the Elephant's Child, and before he thought what he was doing he schlooped up a schloop of mud from the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo, and slapped it on his head, where it made a cool schloopy-sloshy mud-cap all trickly behind his ears. The king had also ordered that special nutritious food be served to the elephant everyday, to keep him healthy. The first thing that he found was a Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake curled round a rock. Then the Elephant's child sat back on his little haunches, and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose began to stretch. "I should like it very much indeed," said the Elephant's Child. ‘What will you ask me next?’, ‘’Scuse me,’ said the Elephant’s Child, ‘but could you kindly tell me what he has for dinner?’. After reading the story, students answer three reading comprehension questions and complete a word search puzzle designed to reinforce their learning. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/79/just-so-stories/1299/the-elephants-child This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. ‘’Scuse me,’ said the Elephant’s Child, ‘but my nose is badly out of shape, and I am waiting for it to shrink. The two became friends. Listen free to Bobby McFerrin & Jack Nicholson – The Elephant's Child (The Elephant's Child, Kolo, Kolo, Kolo and more). "That is odd," said the Elephant's Child, "because my father and mother, and my uncle and my aunt, not to mention my other aunt, the Hippopotamus, and my other uncle, the Baboon, have all spanked me for my 'satiable curtiosity--and I suppose this is the same thing.". The Elephant's Child By Rudyard Kipling 1902 Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet, perhaps best known forThe Jungle Book, which also starred anthropomorphic animals as its cast. Related posts: Short story for kids on A Tailor and the Elephant 195 Words Essay for kids on the elephant 192 Words […] One fine morning in the middle of the Precession of the Equinoxes this ‘satiable Elephant’s Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at Last.fm. said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, in a voice of dretful scorn. The Elephant's Child is a fable about how the elephant got its long trunk. Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this 'satiable Elephant's Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. When he wanted fruit to eat he pulled fruit down from a tree, instead of waiting for it to fall as he used to do. The elephant touched with his trunk each of the five accused men, from his head to his feet. "'Vantage number three!" Then the Elephants' child grew all breathless, and panted, and kneeled down on the bank and said, "You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this ‘satiable Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. . ‘You couldn’t have done that with a mear-smear nose. The elephant saw the dog eating the leftover food. "'Scuse me," said the Elephant's Child most politely, "but do you happen to have seen a Crocodile in these promiscuous parts?". "You couldn't have done that with a mere-smear nose. The story of the army of elephants in Surah Fil is one of those beneficial stories. This website uses cookies so we can provide you with the best user experience. So at last they came to be like charms, all three of t… ", Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake came down from the bank, and knotted himself in a double-clove-hitch round the Elephant's Child's hind legs, and said, "Rash and inexperienced traveller, we will now seriously devote ourselves to a little high tension, because if we do not, it is my impression that yonder self-propelling man-of-war with the armour-plated upper deck" (and by this, O Best Beloved, he meant the Crocodile) "will permanently vitiate your future career.". Then the Elephant's Child put his head down close to the Crocodile's musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his little nose, which up to that very week, day, hour, and minute, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful. This short story was written by Mahesh in the Summer of 2005, when he was 13. 10 tracks (42:16). ‘Then you will have to wait a long time, said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. ", Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake scuffled down from the bank and said, "My young friend, if you do not now, immediately and instantly, pull as hard as ever you can, it is my opinion that your acquaintance in the large-pattern leather ulster" (and by this he meant the Crocodile) "will jerk you into yonder limpid stream before you can say Jack Robinson.". The dog spotted the food leftover by the elephant and ate to its heart’s content. Bowing before him, one mouse spoke for the others and said, “O King, not far from here is our mice community. ‘Come hither, Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘for I am the Crocodile,’ and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true. I Keep six honest serving-men: (They taught me all I knew) Their names are What and Where and When And How and Why and Who. ‘Come hither, Little One,’ said the Crocodile. "Come hither, Little One," said the Crocodile, "for I am the Crocodile," and he wept crocodile tears to show it was quite true. ‘But it’s very useful,’ and he picked up his hairy uncle, the Baboon, by one hairy leg, and hove him into a hornet’s nest. ‘Pooh,’ said the Elephant’s Child. But it never grew any shorter, and, besides, it made him squint. ", "Pooh," said the Elephant's Child. ", At this, O Best Beloved, the Elephant's Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, "Led go! Rosa caramelo, Adela Turín and Nella Bosnia. A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for friends. He pulled out his tall Ostrich aunt’s tail-feathers; and he caught his tall uncle, the Giraffe, by the hind-leg, and dragged him through a thorn-bush; and he shouted at his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, and blew bubbles into her ear when she was sleeping in the water after meals; but he never let any one touch Kolokolo Bird. said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. Padraic Colum was a prolific author and playwright who wrote several collections of stories for... Fairytalez.com is the world's largest collection of fairy tales, fables and folktales. And still he was full of ‘satiable curtiosity! Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet, perhaps best known for The Jungle Book, which also starred anthropomorphic animals as its cast. But it never grew any shorter, and, besides, it made him squint. © 2021 Fairytalez.com, a VareGuide / Weider Media production. So he pulled, and the Elephant's Child pulled, and the Crocodile pulled, but the Elephant's Child and the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake pulled hardest; and at last the Crocodile let go of the Elephant's Child's nose with a plop that you could hear all up and down the Limpopo. So the Elephant's Child went home across Africa frisking and whisking his trunk. view Kindle eBook | view Audible audiobook. "You couldn't have done that with a mere-smear nose. Now how do you feel about being spanked again?’, ‘’Scuse me,’ said the Elephant’s Child, ‘but I should not like it at all.’. But there was one Elephant—a new Elephant—an Elephant’s Child—who was full of ‘satiable curtiosity, and that means he asked ever so many questions. The Elephant's Child from the Just So Stories of Rudyard Kipling tells the story of how the elephant got its trunk. Series for World TV 1980's animated and directed by Sheila Graber on her own,in one year. At the end of the third day a fly came and stung him on the shoulder, and before he knew what he was doing he lifted up his trunk and hit that fly dead with the end of it. And the Crocodile floundered into the water, making it all creamy with great sweeps of his tail, and he pulled, and pulled, and pulled. ‎The Elephant's Child interactive book is based on one of the just so stories written by the well-known English novelist Rudyard Kipling. The Elephant’s Child sat there for three days waiting for his nose to shrink. For I am busy then, As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea, For they are hungry men: But different folk have different views: I know a person small— She keeps ten million serving-men, Who get no rest at all! Before he thought what he was doing the Elephant’s Child put out his trunk and plucked a large bundle of grass, dusted it clean against his fore-legs, and stuffed it into his own mouth. For his nose to shrink very hot here? ’ said the Elephant ’ s Child he in... 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To see the Emperor of China home Page, or Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake uncoiled himself very quickly from the ground, of! Asked, `` Come hither, Little one, ’ said the Elephant, Jean de Brunhoff Elefante! As he used to do Page, or publish your own tales get!