How The Elephant Got His Trunk

HOW THE ELEPHANT GOT HIS
TRUNK
By Emily Bolam
Based on a story by Rudyard Kipling
In the beginning the elephant had no trunk…just a bulgy nose that he could wriggle
about a bit. Now there was one particular elephant – an elephant’s child – who was
extremely curious and used to annoy the other animals by asking them silly
questions.
He asked the giraffe what made his skin spotty.
He asked the lion why he was hairy.
And the hippopotamus why her eyes were red.
One morning he asked: “What does the crocodile eat for dinner?” Nobody would
answer him, so the elephant’s child set off to find out for himself.
He came to the banks of the great Limpopo River and there, lying in the water, was
the crocodile.
Now until that day, the elephant’s child had never seen a crocodile and did not know
what one looked like. “Excuse me,” said the elephant’s child politely, “But do you
know what the crocodiles eat for dinner?”
“Come here, little one,” said the crocodile, “and I will tell you, for I am the crocodile
and today I think I will eat the elephant’s child for dinner.”
And he grabbed the elephant’s child’s nose between his sharp, snappy teeth and
pulled.
Then the elephant’s child spread out his little four legs and pulled and pulled. At each
pull his nose grew longer, and longer, and longer.
At last the crocodile let go of the nose with a plop that you could hear all up and
down the Limpopo.
1
The elephant’s child sat down and waited for three whole days for his nose to shrink,
but it never grew any shorter. So he picked himself up and returned home, frisking
and whisking his new trunk.
He showed his friends all the things he could do with his trunk.
Now he could pluck the nicest leaves from the highest branches.
And he could splash himself with trunkfuls of water when the sun was hot.
His friends were so impressed that they all went off to the banks of the Limpopo
River to borrow noses from the crocodile.
And the elephant’s child trumpeted through the jungle, singing to himself down his
new trunk and didn’t ask any silly questions ever again.
And that is how the elephant got his trunk.
2
HOE DIE OLIFANT SY SLURP GEKRY
HET
Deur Emily Bolam
Gebaseer op 'n verhaal deur Rudyard Kipling
Aan die begin het die olifant geen slurp gehad nie... net 'n bultende neus wat 'n
bietjie kon wriemel. Daar was een spesifieke olifant – 'n olifant se kind – wat uiters
nuuskierig was en die ander diere kwaad gemaak het deur die simpel vrae wat hy
gevra het.
Hy het die kameelperd gevra wat sy vel vlekkerig gemaak het.
Hy het die leeu gevra hoekom hy harig is.
En die seekoei hoekom haar oë rooi was.
Een oggend vra hy: "Wat eet die krokodil vir aandete?" Niemand sou hom antwoord
nie, so die olifant se kind het self gaan uitvind.
Hy het by die oewer van die groot Limpoporivier gekom en daar, in die water, was
die krokodil.
Tot daardie dag het die olifant se kind nog nooit 'n krokodil gesien nie en nie geweet
hoe 'n krokodil lyk nie. "Verskoon my," sê die olifant se kind beleefd, "Maar weet jy
wat die krokodille vir aandete eet?"
"Kom hier, kleintjie," sê die krokodil, "en ek sal jou sê, want ek is die krokodil en
vandag dink ek ek sal die olifant se kind vir aandete eet."
En hy gryp die olifant se kind se neus tussen sy skerp, snaakse tande en TREK.
Toe sprei die olifant se kind sy klein vier bene uit en trek en trek. By elke trek het sy
neus langer en langer en langer geword.
Uiteindelik het die krokodil die neus losgelaat met 'n PLOP wat jy op en af in die
Limpopo kon hoor.
Die olifant se kind het gaan sit en drie hele dae gewag vir sy neus om te krimp, maar
dit het nooit korter geword nie. Die olifant se kind het uiteindelik genoeg moed
bymekaar geskraap om huis toe te gaan: al skuddende en pronkende met sy nuwe
slurp.
Hy het vir sy vriende al die dinge gewys wat hy met sy nuwe slurp kon doen.
Nou kon hy die mooiste blare van die hoogste takke pluk.
3
En hy kon homself spat met hope vol water as die son warm was.
Sy vriende was so beïndruk dat hulle almal na die oewer van die Limpoporivier
gegaan het om neuse by die krokodil te leen.
En die olifant se kind basuin deur die oerwoud en sing vir homself in sy nuwe slurp
en vra nooit weer simpel vrae nie.
En dit is hoe die olifant sy slurp gekry het.

How The Elephant Got His Trunk

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

How The Elephant Got His Trunk

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

How The Elephant Got His Trunk

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HOW THE ELEPHANT GOT HIS

He asked the giraffe what made his skin spotty.

He asked the lion why he was hairy.

And the hippopotamus why her eyes were red.

And that is how the elephant got his trunk.

You might also like