The Elephant's Child



A few weeks ago the Limpopo River came up in conversation with my father (in a conversation regarding Botswana, naturally), and I suddenly remembered the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, specifically the one entitled "The Elephant's Child." This was perhaps my most favoritest story as a child. (While I also adored The Little Prince, Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, these were entire books, and not stories which could be read in a single sitting just before bed.)



If you're going to read and enjoy "The Elephant's Child," you have to forget for a moment the Rudyard Kipling who wrote (cringe) "The White Man's Burden" (although you really should look up the history behind this poem. The Spanish-American War is something hardly ever taught in U.S. history classes, because it doesn't exactly showcase U.S. foreign policy in the nicest of lights. And in case you thought American imperialism purely a thing of the past, do remember, O Best Beloved, that the citizens of Puerto Rico are still unable to vote for president, nor for a single representative in Congress. But I digress.)



Anyway, forget for a moment all you know about Rudyard Kipling, Champion of Imperialism, British or otherwise. Forget that you ever heard of the man. Imagine, instead, that you are being told a delightful tale from a gifted storyteller, a storyteller who revels in the sounds of language, and the joy of the English language. In fact, it is best if you read the story out loud, or, best of all, have someone read it to you. This should be done after you've had an unhurried, warm bath, and are all snuggled up in your comfiest jammies under a quilt your grandma made (if you don't have a quilt your grandma made a regular blankie will do, but really, a quilt your grandma made is ideal). Then rest your head in the lap of the reader (or on a fluffy pillow, if you are your own reader) and let the delightful rhythm of "The Elephant's Child" make you long to visit the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, and find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.

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