Thanks to whom the baby elephant got his trunk. Why does an elephant have a long nose? Elephant Child (Elephant) - Rudyard Joseph Kipling's Tale. Why Brother Possum Has a Bare Tail

Baby elephant. Kipling's Fairy Tale for Children to read

In ancient times, my dears, the elephant did not have a trunk. He had only a blackish thick nose, the size of a boot, which swayed from side to side, and the elephant could not lift anything with it. But one elephant appeared in the world, a young elephant, a baby elephant, which was distinguished by restless curiosity and constantly asked some questions. He lived in Africa and conquered all of Africa with his curiosity. He asked his tall uncle the ostrich why he had feathers on his tail; the tall uncle ostrich beat him with his hard, hard paw for this. He asked his tall aunt giraffe why her skin was spotted; for this the giraffe's tall aunt beat him with her hard, hard hoof. And yet his curiosity did not subside!
He asked his fat hippo uncle why his eyes were red; for this, the fat uncle hippo beat him with his wide, very wide hoof. He asked his hairy baboon uncle why melons tasted this way and not another; for this, the hairy uncle baboon beat him with his shaggy, shaggy hand. And yet his curiosity did not subside! He asked questions about everything he saw, heard, tasted, smelled, felt, and all the uncles and aunts beat him for it. And yet his curiosity did not subside!
One fine morning before the spring equinox, the restless elephant calf asked a strange new question. He asked:
What does a crocodile have for lunch?
Everyone shouted "shhh" loudly and began to beat him for a long time, non-stop.
When they finally left him alone, the baby elephant saw a bell bird sitting on a thorn bush and said:
- My father beat me, my mother beat me, my uncles and aunts beat me for "restless curiosity", but I still want to know what a crocodile has for dinner!
The bird kolo-kolo grimly croaked in response to him:
- Go to the banks of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, and see for yourself!
The next morning, when the equinox had already ended, the restless baby elephant took one hundred pounds of bananas (small with red skin), one hundred pounds of sugar cane (long with dark bark) and seventeen melons (green, crispy) and declared to his dear relatives:
- Farewell! I go to the big grey-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, to find out what the crocodile has for lunch.
He left, a little flushed, but not at all surprised. On the way, he ate melons, and threw the rinds, because he could not pick them up.
He walked and walked to the northeast and ate melons until he came to the bank of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, as the bird kololo-kolo told him.
I must tell you, my dears, that until that very week, until that very day, until that very hour, until that very minute, the restless baby elephant had never seen a crocodile and did not even know what he looked like.
The first thing that caught the baby elephant's eye was a two-colored python (a huge snake) wrapped around a rocky block.
- Excuse me, - politely said the baby elephant, - have you seen a crocodile in these parts?
- Have I seen a crocodile? the python exclaimed angrily. - What's question?
“Excuse me,” the baby elephant repeated, “but can you tell me what a crocodile has for dinner?”
The two-colored python instantly turned around and began to beat the baby elephant with its heavy, heavy tail.
- Weird! - noticed the elephant. - Father and mother, my own uncle and my own aunt, not to mention the other uncle hippo and the third uncle baboon, all beat me for "restless curiosity." Probably, and now I get the same for it.
He politely said goodbye to the python, helped him again wrap himself around the rocky block and went on, a little excited, but not at all surprised. On the way, he ate melons, and threw the rinds, because he could not pick them up. At the very bank of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, he stepped on something that seemed to him a log.
However, in reality it was a crocodile. Yes, my dears. And the crocodile winked his eye - like that.
- Excuse me, - politely said the baby elephant, - have you ever met a crocodile in these parts?
Then the crocodile screwed up its other eye and stuck its tail half out of the mud. The baby elephant politely backed away; he did not want to be beaten again.
“Come here, little one,” said the crocodile.
- Why are you asking about this?
“Forgive me,” the elephant answered politely, “but my father beat me, my mother beat me, not to mention uncle ostrich and aunt giraffe, who fights just as painfully as uncle hippos and uncle baboons. Even here on the shore a two-colored python beat me, and with its heavy, heavy tail it beats more painfully than all of them. If you don't care, then please don't hit me.
“Come here, little one,” repeated the monster. - I am a crocodile.
And as proof, he burst into crocodile tears.
The baby elephant even took his breath away with joy. He knelt down and said:
- You are the one I have been looking for for many days. Kindly tell me what do you have for lunch?
- Come here, little one, - answered the crocodile, - I'll tell you in your ear.
The baby elephant bent his head into the toothy, fetid mouth of the crocodile. And the crocodile grabbed him by the nose, which until that day and hour the baby elephant had was no more than a boot, although much more useful.
- It seems that today, - said the crocodile through his teeth, like this, - it seems that today I will have a baby elephant for dinner.
The baby elephant did not like this at all, my dears, and he said through his nose, like this:
- No need! Let me go!
Then the two-colored python hissed from his rocky block:
- My young friend, if you do not now begin to pull with all your might, then I can assure you that your acquaintance with a large leather bag (he meant a crocodile) will end badly for you.
The baby elephant sat on the shore and began to pull, pull, pull, and his nose kept stretching. The crocodile floundered in the water, whipping white foam with his tail, and he pulled, pulled, pulled.
The baby elephant's nose continued to stretch. The baby elephant braced himself with all four legs and pulled, pulled, pulled, and his nose continued to stretch. The crocodile raked the water with its tail like an oar, and the baby elephant pulled, pulled, pulled. Every minute his nose was stretched out - and how it hurt, oh-oh-oh!
The baby elephant felt that his legs were slipping, and he said through his nose, which now stretched out two arshins:
- You know, this is too much!
Then a two-color python came to the rescue. He wrapped himself in a double ring around the hind legs of the baby elephant and said:
- Reckless and reckless youth! We must now fit well, otherwise that warrior in armor (he meant the crocodile, my dears) will spoil your whole future.
He pulled, and the baby elephant pulled, and the crocodile pulled.
But the baby elephant and the bicolor python pulled harder. At last the crocodile released the baby elephant's nose with such a splash that was heard along the entire Limpopo River.
The baby elephant fell on its back. However, he did not forget to immediately thank the two-colored python, and then began to look after his poor long nose: he wrapped it in fresh banana leaves and plunged it into the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo.
- What are you doing? asked the bicolor python.
“Excuse me,” said the baby elephant, “but my nose has completely lost its shape, and I am waiting for it to shrink.
"Well, you'll have to wait a long time," said the two-colored python. - It's amazing how others do not understand their own good.
For three days the baby elephant sat and waited for his nose to shrink. And his nose was not shortened at all and even made his eyes slanted. You understand, my dears, that the crocodile pulled out a real trunk for him, such as elephants now have.
At the end of the third day, a fly bit the baby elephant on the shoulder. Without realizing it himself, he lifted his trunk and swat the fly to death.
- First advantage! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Well, now eat some!
Without realizing it himself, the baby elephant stretched out its trunk, pulled out a huge bunch of grass, knocked it out on its front legs and put it into its mouth.
- The second advantage! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Don't you find that the sun is very hot here?
"True," replied the elephant.
Without realizing it himself, he collected mud from the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo and splashed it on his head. The result was a mud cap that spread behind the ears.
- The third advantage! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Don't you want to be beaten?
“Forgive me,” answered the baby elephant, “I don’t want to at all.
- Well, don't you want to beat someone yourself? continued the two-colored python. “I really want to,” said the baby elephant.
- Good. You'll see how your new nose will come in handy for this, - explained the two-colored python.
“Thank you,” said the baby elephant. - I will follow your advice. Now I'll go to mine and try them on them.
In this picture you see a baby elephant plucking bananas from a tall tree with her beautiful new long trunk. I know that this picture is not very good, but I can't help it: it's too difficult to draw bananas and elephants. The black stripe behind the baby elephant depicts a wild swampy area somewhere in the wilderness of Africa. The baby elephant made himself mud caps from the mud that he found there. I think it will be good if you paint a banana tree in green color, and the baby elephant - in red.
The baby elephant went home across Africa, twisting and turning his trunk. When he wanted to eat the fruits, he plucked them from the tree, and did not wait, as before, for them to fall on their own. When he wanted grass, he pulled it out with his trunk without bending down, and did not crawl on his knees, as before. When the flies bit him, he broke off a branch for himself and fanned himself with it. And when the sun was hot, he made himself a new cool cap of mud. When he was bored walking, he hummed a song, and through his trunk it sounded louder than copper pipes. He purposely turned off the road to find some fat hippo (not a relative) and give him a good beating. The baby elephant wanted to see if the two-colored python was right about his new trunk. All the time he was picking up the peels of melons, which he threw on the way to Limpopo: he was distinguished by neatness.
One dark evening he returned to his people and, holding his trunk in a ring, said:
- Hello!
He was very happy and answered:
- Come here, we will beat you for "restless curiosity."
- Ba! - said the elephant. You don't know how to hit at all. But look how I fight.
He turned his trunk and hit his two brothers so that they rolled somersaults.
- Oh oh oh! they exclaimed. - Where did you learn such things? .. Wait, what's on your nose?
- I got a new nose from a crocodile on the banks of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, - said the baby elephant. - I asked him what he had for lunch, and he gave me this.
- Ugly, - said the hairy uncle baboon.
- True, - answered the baby elephant, - but it is very convenient.
With these words, he grabbed his hairy uncle the baboon by the shaggy hand and thrust him into the hornets' nest.
Then the baby elephant began to beat other relatives. They were very excited and very surprised. The baby elephant pulled out the tail feathers of his tall ostrich uncle. Grabbing his tall aunt giraffe by the hind leg, he dragged her through the thorn bushes. The baby elephant yelled at his fat hippo uncle and blew bubbles in his ear when he slept in the water after dinner. But he did not allow anyone to offend the kolokolo bird.
Relations became so aggravated that all the relatives, one by one, hurried to the banks of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, where fever trees grow, in order to get new noses from the crocodile. When they returned, no one else fought. Since then, my dears, all the elephants that you will see, and even those that you will not see, have the same trunks as the restless baby elephant.

When elephants did not have a trunk, a curious baby elephant asked many questions, for which he was repeatedly beaten. Finally, he wanted to know what the crocodile had for dinner. With this question he turned to the crocodile; he grabbed him by the nose and began to drag him into the water. The python pulled the curious baby by its hind legs, but the baby elephant's nose remained extended. With it, he could get bananas, and also chop off all those who had previously opened their paws.

Watch the cartoon "Elephant":

He asked his fat hippo uncle why his eyes were red; for this, the fat uncle hippo beat him with his wide, very wide hoof.

He asked his hairy baboon uncle why melons tasted this way and not another; for this, the hairy uncle baboon beat him with his shaggy, shaggy hand. And yet his curiosity did not subside! He asked questions about everything he saw, heard, tasted, smelled, felt, and all the uncles and aunts beat him for it. And yet his curiosity did not subside!

One fine morning before the spring equinox* the restless elephant calf asked a strange new question. He asked:

What does a crocodile have for lunch?

Everyone shouted "shhh" loudly and began to beat him for a long time, non-stop.

When they finally left him alone, the baby elephant saw a bell bird sitting on a thorn bush and said:

My father beat me, my mother beat me, my uncles and aunts beat me for "restless curiosity", but I still want to know what the crocodile has for dinner!

The bird kolo-kolo grimly croaked in response to him:

Go to the banks of the big grey-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, and see for yourself!

The next morning, when the equinox had already ended, the restless baby elephant took one hundred pounds * bananas (small with red skin), one hundred pounds of sugar cane (long with dark bark) and seventeen melons (green, crispy) and said to his dear relatives:

Farewell! I go to the big grey-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, to find out what the crocodile has for lunch.

He left, a little flushed, but not at all surprised. On the way, he ate melons, and threw the rinds, because he could not pick them up.

He walked and walked to the northeast and ate melons until he came to the bank of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, as the bird kololo-kolo told him.

I must tell you, my dears, that until that very week, until that very day, until that very hour, until that very minute, the restless baby elephant had never seen a crocodile and did not even know what he looked like.

The first thing that caught the baby elephant's eye was a two-colored python (a huge snake) wrapped around a rocky block.

Excuse me, - the elephant said politely, - have you seen a crocodile in these parts?

Have I seen a crocodile? the python exclaimed angrily. - What's question?

Excuse me, repeated the baby elephant, but can you tell me what the crocodile has for dinner?

The two-colored python instantly turned around and began to beat the baby elephant with its heavy, heavy tail.

Weird! - noticed the elephant. - Father and mother, my own uncle and my own aunt, not to mention the other uncle hippo and the third uncle baboon, all beat me for "restless curiosity." Probably, and now I get the same for it.

He politely said goodbye to the python, helped him again wrap himself around the rocky block and went on, a little excited, but not at all surprised. On the way, he ate melons, and threw the rinds, because he could not pick them up. At the very bank of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, he stepped on something that seemed to him a log.

However, in reality it was a crocodile. Yes, my dears. And the crocodile winked his eye - like that.

Excuse me, - the baby elephant said politely, - have you ever met a crocodile in these parts?

Then the crocodile screwed up its other eye and stuck its tail half out of the mud. The baby elephant politely backed away; he did not want to be beaten again.

Come here, little one, said the crocodile.

Why are you asking about this?

Forgive me, - the elephant answered politely, - but my father beat me, my mother beat me, not to mention Uncle Ostrich and Aunt Giraffe, who fights just as painfully as Uncle Hippos and Uncle Baboons. Even here on the shore a two-colored python beat me, and with its heavy, heavy tail it beats more painfully than all of them. If you don't care, then please don't hit me.

Come here, little one, the monster repeated. - I am a crocodile.

And as proof, he burst into crocodile tears.

The baby elephant even took his breath away with joy. He knelt down and said:

You are the one I have been looking for for many days. Kindly tell me what do you have for lunch?

Come here, little one, - the crocodile answered, - I will tell you in your ear.

The baby elephant bent his head into the toothy, fetid mouth of the crocodile. And the crocodile grabbed him by the nose, which until that day and hour the baby elephant had was no more than a boot, although much more useful.

It seems that today, - said the crocodile through his teeth, like this, - it seems that today I will have a baby elephant for dinner.

The baby elephant did not like this at all, my dears, and he said through his nose, like this:

No need! Let me go!

Then the two-colored python hissed from his rocky block:

My young friend, if you do not now begin to pull with all your might, then I can assure you that your acquaintance with a large leather bag (he meant a crocodile) will end in tears for you.

The baby elephant sat on the shore and began to pull, pull, pull, and his nose kept stretching. The crocodile floundered in the water, whipping white foam with his tail, and he pulled, pulled, pulled.

The baby elephant's nose continued to stretch. The baby elephant braced himself with all four legs and pulled, pulled, pulled, and his nose continued to stretch. The crocodile raked the water with its tail like an oar, and the baby elephant pulled, pulled, pulled. Every minute his nose was stretched out - and how it hurt, oh-oh-oh!

The baby elephant felt that his legs were slipping, and he said through his nose, which now stretched out two arshins:

You know, this is too much!

Then a two-color python came to the rescue. He wrapped himself in a double ring around the hind legs of the baby elephant and said:

Reckless and reckless youth! We must now fit well, otherwise that warrior in armor ** (he meant the crocodile, my dears) will spoil your whole future.

He pulled, and the baby elephant pulled, and the crocodile pulled.

But the baby elephant and the bicolor python pulled harder. At last the crocodile released the baby elephant's nose with such a splash that was heard along the entire Limpopo River.

The baby elephant fell on its back. However, he did not forget to immediately thank the two-colored python, and then began to look after his poor long nose: he wrapped it in fresh banana leaves and plunged it into the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo.

What are you doing? asked the bicolor python.

Excuse me, said the baby elephant, but my nose has completely lost its shape, and I am waiting for it to shrink.

Well, you'll have to wait a long time, said the two-colored python. - It's amazing how others do not understand their own good.

For three days the baby elephant sat and waited for his nose to shrink. And his nose was not shortened at all and even made his eyes slanted. You understand, my dears, that the crocodile pulled out a real trunk for him, such as elephants now have.

At the end of the third day, a fly bit the baby elephant on the shoulder. Without realizing it himself, he lifted his trunk and swat the fly to death.

Advantage number one! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Well, now eat some!

Without realizing it himself, the baby elephant stretched out its trunk, pulled out a huge bunch of grass, knocked it out on its front legs and put it into its mouth.

Second advantage! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Don't you find that the sun is very hot here?

True, the elephant answered.

Without realizing it himself, he collected mud from the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo and splashed it on his head. The result was a mud cap that spread behind the ears.

Advantage three! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Don't you want to be beaten?

Forgive me, - the elephant answered, - I don’t want to at all.

Well, don't you want to beat someone yourself? continued the two-colored python. “I really want to,” said the baby elephant.

Good. You'll see how your new nose will come in handy for this, - explained the two-colored python.

Thank you, - said the baby elephant. - I will follow your advice. Now I'll go to mine and try them on them.

The baby elephant went home across Africa, twisting and turning his trunk. When he wanted to eat the fruits, he plucked them from the tree, and did not wait, as before, for them to fall on their own.

When he wanted grass, he pulled it out with his trunk without bending down, and did not crawl on his knees, as before. When the flies bit him, he broke off a branch for himself and fanned himself with it. And when the sun was hot, he made himself a new cool cap of mud.

When he was bored walking, he hummed a song, and through his trunk it sounded louder than copper pipes. He purposely turned off the road to find some fat hippo (not a relative) and give him a good beating. The baby elephant wanted to see if the two-colored python was right about his new trunk. All the time he was picking up the peels of melons, which he threw on the way to Limpopo: he was distinguished by neatness.

One dark evening he returned to his people and, holding his trunk in a ring, said:

Hello!

He was very happy and answered:

Come here, we'll beat you for "restless curiosity."

Ba! - said the elephant. You don't know how to hit at all. But look how I fight.

He turned his trunk and hit his two brothers so that they rolled somersaults.

Oh oh oh! they exclaimed. - Where did you learn such things? .. Wait, what's on your nose?

I got a new nose from a crocodile on the banks of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, said the baby elephant. - I asked him what he had for lunch, and he gave me this.

Ugly, - said the hairy uncle baboon.

True, - answered the baby elephant, - but it is very convenient.

With these words, he grabbed his hairy uncle the baboon by the shaggy hand and thrust him into the hornets' nest.

Then the baby elephant began to beat other relatives. They were very excited and very surprised. The baby elephant pulled out the tail feathers of his tall ostrich uncle. Grabbing his tall aunt giraffe by the hind leg, he dragged her through the thorn bushes. The baby elephant yelled at his fat hippo uncle and blew bubbles in his ear when he slept in the water after dinner. But he did not allow anyone to offend the kolokolo bird.

Relations became so aggravated that all the relatives, one by one, hurried to the banks of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, where fever trees grow, in order to get new noses from the crocodile. When they returned, no one else fought. Since then, my dears, all the elephants that you will see, and even those that you will not see, have the same trunks as the restless baby elephant.

Rudyard Kipling

Baby elephant

One fine morning before the spring equinox, the restless elephant calf asked a strange new question. He asked:

What does a crocodile have for lunch?

Everyone shouted "shhh" loudly and began to beat him for a long time, non-stop.

When at last they left him alone, the baby elephant saw a bird, a kolokolo, sitting on a thorn bush, and said:

My father beat me, my mother beat me, my uncles and aunts beat me for "restless curiosity", but I still want to know what the crocodile has for dinner!

The bird kolo-kolo grimly croaked in response to him:

Go to the banks of the big grey-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, and see for yourself!

The next morning, when the equinox had already ended, the restless baby elephant took one hundred pounds of bananas (small with red skin), one hundred pounds of sugar cane (long with dark bark) and seventeen melons (green, crispy) and said to his dear relatives: - Goodbye! I go to the big grey-green muddy river Limpopo, where the fever trees grow, to find out what the crocodile has for lunch.

He left, a little flushed, but not at all surprised. On the way, he ate melons, and threw the rinds, because he could not pick them up.

He walked and walked to the northeast and ate melons until he came to the bank of the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo, where fever trees grow, as the bird kolokolo told him.

The first thing that caught the baby elephant's eye was a two-colored python (a huge snake) wrapped around a rocky block.

Excuse me, - the elephant said politely, - have you seen a crocodile in these parts?

Have I seen a crocodile? the python exclaimed angrily. - What's question?

Excuse me, repeated the baby elephant, but can you tell me what the crocodile has for dinner?

The two-colored python instantly turned around and began to beat the baby elephant with its heavy, heavy tail.

This picture shows a baby elephant being pulled by the nose by a crocodile. He is very surprised and stunned. It hurts, and he says through his nose:

- No need! Let me go!

He pulls in his direction, and the crocodile in his. The two-colored python hurriedly swims to the aid of the baby elephant. The black spot on the right represents the banks of the large gray-green muddy Limpopo River - I am not allowed to color the picture. A plant with tenacious roots and eight leaves is one of the fever trees that grow here.

Below the picture are the shadows of African animals heading for the African Noah's Ark. You see two lions, two ostriches, two bulls, two camels, two rams, and a couple of other rat-like animals, but I think they are rabbits. I placed them so-so, for beauty. They would have looked even more beautiful if I had been allowed to color them.

However, in reality it was a crocodile. Yes, my dears. And the crocodile winked his eye - like that.

Excuse me, - the baby elephant said politely, - have you ever met a crocodile in these parts?

Then the crocodile screwed up its other eye and stuck its tail half out of the mud. The baby elephant politely backed away; he did not want to be beaten again.

Come here, little one, said the crocodile.

Why are you asking about this?

Come here, little one, the monster repeated. - I am a crocodile.

And as proof, he burst into crocodile tears.

The baby elephant even took his breath away with joy. He knelt down and said:

You are the one I have been looking for for many days. Kindly tell me what do you have for lunch?

Come here, little one, - the crocodile answered, I'll tell you in your ear.

It seems that today, - said the crocodile through his teeth, like this, - it seems that today I will have a baby elephant for dinner.

The baby elephant did not like this at all, my dears, and he said through his nose, like this:

No need! Let me go!

Then the two-colored python hissed from his rocky block:

My young friend, if you do not now begin to pull with all your might, then I can assure you that your acquaintance with a large leather bag (he meant a crocodile) will end in tears for you.

The baby elephant felt that his legs were slipping, and he said through his nose, which now stretched out two arshins:

You know, this is too much!

Then a two-color python came to the rescue. He wrapped himself in a double ring around the hind legs of the baby elephant and said:

Reckless and reckless youth! We must now fit well, otherwise that warrior in armor (he meant the crocodile, my dears) will spoil your whole future.

He pulled, and the baby elephant pulled, and the crocodile pulled. But the baby elephant and the bicolor python pulled harder. At last the crocodile released the baby elephant's nose with such a splash that was heard along the entire Limpopo River.

The baby elephant fell on its back. However, he did not forget to immediately thank the two-colored python, and then began to care for his poor long nose: he wrapped it in fresh banana leaves and plunged it into the big gray-green muddy river Limpopo.

What are you doing? asked the two-colored neaton.

Excuse me, said the baby elephant, but my nose has completely lost its shape, and I am waiting for it to shrink.

Well, you'll have to wait a long time, said the two-colored python. - It's amazing how others do not understand their own good.

At the end of the third day, a fly bit the baby elephant on the shoulder. Without realizing it himself, he lifted his trunk and swat the fly to death.

Advantage number one! - said the bicolor python. "You couldn't do that with a simple nose." Well, now eat some!

It is only now, my dear boy, that the Elephant has a trunk. And before, a long time ago, the Elephant did not have any trunk. There was only a nose, sort of like a cake, black and the size of a shoe. This nose dangled in all directions, but still it was no good: is it possible to lift something from the ground with such a nose?

But at that very time, a long time ago, there lived one such Elephant, or, rather, the Baby Elephant, who was terribly curious, and whomever he saw, pestered everyone with questions. He lived in Africa, and he pestered all Africa with questions.

He molested the Ostrich, his lanky aunt, and asked her why the feathers on her tail grew so, and not that way, and the lanky aunt Ostrich gave him a cuff for that with her hard, hard leg.

He molested his long-legged uncle Giraffe and asked him why he had spots on his skin, and the long-legged uncle Giraffe gave him a cuff with his hard, hard hoof.

And he asked his fat aunt Behemoth why she had such red eyes, and the fat aunt Behemoth gave him a cuff with her fat, fat hoof.

But that didn't stop him from curiosity.

He asked his hairy uncle Baboon why all the melons are so sweet, and the hairy uncle Baboon gave him a cuff for that with his shaggy, hairy paw.

But that didn't stop him from curiosity.

Whatever he saw, whatever he heard, whatever he sniffed, whatever he touched, he immediately asked about everything and immediately received cuffs from all his uncles and aunts.

But that didn't stop him from curiosity.

And it so happened that one fine morning, shortly before the equinox, this very Baby Elephant - annoying and pestering - asked about one such thing that he had never asked before. He asked:

What does the crocodile eat for dinner?

Everyone was frightened and shouted loudly:

Ts-s-s-s!

And immediately, without further words, they began to pour cuffs on him.

They beat him for a long time, without a break, but when they finished beating, he immediately ran up to the bird Kolokolo, who was sitting in a thorny thorn bush, and said:

My father beat me, and my mother beat me, and all my aunts beat me, and all my uncles beat me for my unbearable curiosity, and yet I would terribly want to know what the Crocodile eats at dinner?

And the bird Bell said in a sad and loud voice:

Go to the bank of the sleepy, fetid, muddy-green Limpopo River; its banks are covered with trees that make everyone feverish. There you will learn everything.

The next morning, when nothing was left of the equinox, this curious Baby Elephant collected bananas - as much as a hundred pounds! - and sugar cane - also a hundred pounds! - and seventeen greenish melons, of those that crunch on the teeth, he put it all on his shoulders and, wishing his dear relatives to stay happy, set off.

Farewell! he told them. - I'm going to the sleepy, fetid, muddy green river Limpopo; its banks are covered with trees that make everyone feverish, and there I will by all means find out what the Crocodile eats at dinner.

And his relatives once again gave him a good blow in parting, although he very politely asked them not to worry.

And he walked away from them, a little shabby, but not very surprised. He ate melons along the way, and threw the crusts on the ground, since he had nothing to pick up these crusts. From the city of Graham he went to Kimberley, from Kimberley to Ham's land, from Ham's land to the east and north, and all the way treated himself to melons, until at last he came to the sleepy, fetid, muddy green Limpopo River, surrounded by just such trees, oh which the bird Bell told him.

And you need to know, my dear boy, that until that very week, until that very day, until that very hour, until that very minute, our curious Baby Elephant had never seen a Crocodile and did not even know what it was. Imagine his curiosity!

The first thing that caught his eye was the Bicolor Python, the Rock Serpent, coiled around some rock.

Excuse me, please! - said the Elephant very politely. - Did you meet a Crocodile somewhere nearby? It's so easy to get lost here.

Did I meet a Crocodile? said the Bicolor Python, the Rock Serpent contemptuously. - Found something to ask!

Excuse me, please! - continued Elephant. - Can you tell me what the Crocodile eats at dinner?

Here the Two-Colored Python, the Rocky Serpent, could no longer resist, quickly turned around and gave the Baby Elephant a cuff with his huge tail. And his tail was like a threshing flail and covered with scales.

Here are miracles! - said the Elephant. - Not only did my father beat me, and my mother beat me, and my uncle beat me, and my aunt beat me, and my other uncle, Baboon, beat me, and my other aunt, Behemoth, beat me, and that's all I was beaten as is for my terrible curiosity - here, as I see, the same story begins.

And he very politely said goodbye to the Two-Colored Python, the Rock Serpent, helped him again wrap himself around the rock and went on; he was well beaten, but he was not very surprised at this, but again took hold of the melons and again threw the crusts on the ground - because, I repeat, what would he use to lift them? - and soon came across some kind of log lying on the very bank of the sleepy, fetid, muddy-green Limpopo River, surrounded by trees that make everyone feverish.

But really, my dear boy, it wasn't a log, it was a Crocodile. And the Crocodile winked with one eye - like that!

Excuse me, please! - the Baby Elephant addressed him extremely politely. - Did you happen to meet a Crocodile somewhere nearby in these places?

The crocodile winked its other eye and stuck its tail half out of the water. The baby elephant (again, very politely!) stepped back, because he did not want to receive another cuff.

Come here, my baby! said Crocodile. - Why do you really need it?

Excuse me, please! - said the Elephant very politely. - My father beat me, and my mother beat me, my lanky aunt Ostrich beat me, and my long-legged uncle Giraffe beat me, my other aunt, a fat Hippo, beat me, and my other uncle, a furry Baboon, beat me, and Python The Two-Colored Rocky Serpent has just been beating me very, very painfully, and now - don't be angry - I don't want to be beaten again.

Come here, my baby, - said the Crocodile, - because I am the Crocodile.

And he began to shed crocodile tears to show that he really was a Crocodile.

The baby elephant was overjoyed. He was breathless, he fell to his knees and shouted:

I need you! I've been looking for you for so many days! Tell me, please, quickly, what do you eat for dinner?

Come closer, I'll whisper in your ear.

The baby elephant bent his head close, close to the toothy, fanged crocodile mouth, and the Crocodile grabbed him by the little nose, which until this very week, until this very day, until this very hour, until this very minute, was no more than a shoe.

It seems to me, - said the Crocodile, and said through his teeth, like this, - it seems to me that today for the first course I will have a Baby Elephant.

The tale will tell about how elephants got their long noses - trunks ...

baby elephant read

It is only now, my dear boy, that the Elephant has a trunk. And before, for a long time, for a long time, the Elephant had no trunk. There was only a nose, sort of like a cake, black and the size of a shoe. This nose dangled in all directions, but still it was no good: is it possible to lift something from the ground with such a nose?

But at that very time, long, long ago, there lived one such Elephant. - or better to say: Elephant, who was terribly curious, and who, it happened, he didn’t see, sticks to everyone with questions. He lived in Africa, and he pestered all Africa with questions.

He molested the Ostrich, his lanky aunt, and asked her why the feathers on her tail grow in this way and not otherwise, and the lanky aunt Ostrich gave him a cuff for this with her hard, hard leg.

He molested his long-legged uncle Giraffe and asked him why he had spots on his skin, and long-legged uncle Giraffe gave him a cuff for this with his hard, hard hoof.

And he asked his fat aunt Behemoth why she had such red eyes, and the fat aunt Behemoth gave him a cuff with her fat, fat hoof.

But that didn't stop him from curiosity.

He asked his hairy uncle Baboon why all melons are so sweet, and the hairy uncle Baboon gave him a cuff with his furry, hairy paw for this.

But that didn't stop him from curiosity.

Whatever he saw, whatever he heard, whatever he sniffed, whatever he touched, he immediately asked about everything and immediately received a cuff for it from all his uncles and aunts.

But that didn't stop him from curiosity.

And it so happened that one fine morning, shortly before the equinox, this very Baby Elephant - annoying and pestering - asked about one such thing that no one had ever asked before. He asked:

What does the crocodile eat for dinner?

Everyone shouted at him:

Ts-s-s-s!

And immediately, without further words, they began to reward him with cuffs. They beat him for a long time, without a break, but when they finished beating, he immediately ran up to the thorn bush and said to the Kolokolo bird:

My father beat me, and my mother beat me, and all my aunts beat me, and all my uncles beat me for my unbearable curiosity, and yet I terribly would like to know what the Crocodile can eat at his dinner?

And the Colonolo bird said, sobbing sadly and loudly:

Go to the wide river Limpopo. It is dirty, cloudy green, and poisonous trees grow above it, which are catching a fever. There you will learn everything.

The next day, when there was nothing left of the equinox, the Elephant Cub collected bananas - as much as a hundred pounds! - and sugar cane - also a hundred pounds! - and seventeen green crispy melons, he shouldered it all and, wishing his dear relatives to stay happy, set off.

Farewell! he told them. - I'm going to the dirty, muddy green Limpopo River; trees grow there, they catch up with a fever, and I will find out what the Crocodile eats at dinner.

And the relatives once again took advantage of the opportunity and gave him a good blow at parting, although he very kindly asked them not to worry.

This was no wonder to him, and he left them, slightly shabby, but not very surprised. He ate melons along the way, and threw the minks on the ground, since he had nothing to pick up these crusts.

From the city of Graham he went to Kimberley, from Kimberley to Ham's land, from Ham's land to the east and north, and all the way he treated himself to melons, until at last he came to a dirty, muddy green wide river Limpopo, surrounded by just such trees, as the bird Bell said.

The first thing that caught his eye was the Bicolor Python, the Rock Serpent, coiled around the cliff.

Excuse me, please! - said the Baby Elephant extremely politely. - Did you meet the Crocodile somewhere nearby? It's so easy to get lost here.

Did I meet a Crocodile? - the Serpent asked with a heart. - I found something to ask!

Excuse me, please! - continued the Elephant. - Can you tell me what the Crocodile eats at dinner?

Here the Bicolor Python could no longer resist, quickly turned around and gave the Baby Elephant a cuff with his huge tail. And his tail was like a threshing flail and covered with scales.

Here are miracles! - said the Baby Elephant. - Not only did my father beat me, and my mother beat me, and my uncle beat me, and my aunt beat me, and my other uncle, Baboon, beat me, and my other aunt, Behemoth, beat me, and everyone beat me for my terrible curiosity - here, as I see, the same story begins.

And he very politely said goodbye to the Bicolor Python, helped him wrap himself around the rock again and went on; although he was well beaten, he was not very surprised at this, but again took hold of the melons and again threw the crusts on the ground, because, I repeat, what would he use to pick them up? - and soon came across some kind of log, lying on the very bank of the dirty, muddy-green Limpopo River, surrounded by trees, catching a fever.

But in fact, my dear boy, it was not a log at all - it was a Crocodile. And the Crocodile blinked with one eye - like this.

Excuse me, please! - the Baby Elephant addressed him extremely politely. - Did you happen to meet a Crocodile somewhere nearby in these places?

The crocodile winked its other eye and stuck its tail half out of the water. The baby elephant (again, very politely!) stepped back, because new cuffs did not attract him at all.

Come here, my baby! - said the Crocodile. - You, in fact, why do you need it?

Excuse me, please! - said the Baby Elephant extremely politely. - My father beat me, and my mother beat me, my lanky aunt the Ostrich beat me, and my long-legged uncle Giraffe beat me, my other aunt, the fat Hippo, beat me, and my other uncle, the shaggy Baboon , beat me, and the Bicolor Python, the Rock Serpent, just recently, quite recently, beat me terribly painfully, and now - do not be angry with you - I would not like to be beaten again.

Come here, my baby, - said the Crocodile, - because I am the Crocodile.

In support of his words, he rolled out a large crocodile tear from his right eye.

The baby elephant was terribly happy; his breath was taken away, he fell to his knees and shouted:

My God! I need you! I've been looking for you for so many days! Tell me, please, quickly, what do you eat for dinner?

Come closer, little one, I'll whisper in your ear.

The baby elephant immediately bowed his ear to the toothy, fanged crocodile mouth, and the Crocodile grabbed him by the little nose, which until this very week, until this very day, until this very hour, until this very minute, was not at all bigger than a shoe.

From this day on, - said the Crocodile through his teeth, - from this day on, I will eat young elephants.

The baby elephant did not like this terribly, and he spoke through his nose:

Pusdide trouble, where the pain is! (Let me go, it hurts a lot).

Then the Bicolor Python, the Rocky Serpent, rushed off the cliff and said:

If you, oh my young friend, do not immediately recoil back as long as you have enough strength, then my opinion is that you will not have time to say "Our Father", as a result of your conversation with this leather bag (as he called the Crocodile ) you will get there, into that transparent stream ...

Bicolor Pythons, Rock Serpents always speak in a learned way. The baby elephant obeyed, sat on its hind legs and began to stretch back.

He stretched, and stretched, and stretched, and his nose began to stretch. And the Crocodile stepped back further into the water, foamed and muddied it all with the blows of his tail, and also pulled, and pulled, and pulled.

And Baby Elephant's nose stretched out, and Baby Elephant spread all four legs, such tiny elephant legs, and stretched, and stretched, and stretched, and his nose kept stretching. And the Crocodile beat with his tail, like an oar, and pulled, and pulled, and the more he pulled, the longer the Elephant's nose stretched out, and it hurt this nose o-o-o-o-o-o!

And suddenly the Baby Elephant felt that his legs were slipping on the ground, and he cried out through his nose, which became almost five feet long:

Osdavide! Dovoldo! Osdavide!

Hearing this, the Two-Colored Python, the Rock Serpent, rushed down from the cliff, wrapped a double knot around the hind leg of the Baby Elephant, and said in his solemn voice:

Oh, inexperienced and frivolous traveler! We must exert ourselves as much as possible, for my opinion is that this living armadillo with an armored deck (as he called the Crocodile) wants to ruin your future career ...

Bicolor Pythons, Rock Serpents always express themselves like this. And now the Serpent is pulling, the Elephant is pulling, but the Crocodile is also pulling.

It pulls, pulls, but since the Baby Elephant and the Bicolor Python, the Rocky Serpent pull harder, the Crocodile, in the end, must release the Baby Elephant's nose - it flies back with such a splash that is heard throughout Limpopo.

And the Baby Elephant both stood and sat down on a grand scale and hit very painfully, but still managed to say thanks to the Bicolor Python, the Rocky Serpent, although, really, he had no time for it: he had to quickly deal with his elongated nose - wrap it with wet banana leaves and lower it into the cold muddy green water of the Limpopo River so that it cools down a little.

Why do you need it? said Bicolor Python, Rock Serpent. - Excuse me, please, - said the Elephant, - my nose has lost its former appearance, and I am waiting for it to become short again.

You will have to wait a long time,” said Bicolor Python, Rock Serpent. - That is, it is amazing how others do not understand their own benefit!

The baby elephant stood over the water for three days and three nights and kept waiting to see if his nose would decrease. But the nose did not decrease and - moreover, because of this nose, the Elephant's eyes became a little slanting.

Because, my dear boy, I hope you have already guessed that the Crocodile stuck out the Elephant's nose into the most real trunk - exactly the same as the current Elephants have.

By the end of the third day, some fly flew in and stung the Baby Elephant on the shoulder, and he, not noticing what he was doing, raised his trunk, slapped the fly with his trunk - and she fell down dead.

Here is your first benefit! said Bicolor Python, Rock Serpent. - Well, judge for yourself: could you do something like that with your old pin nose? By the way, would you like to eat?

And the Baby Elephant, not knowing how he did it, reached out with his trunk to the ground and plucked a good bunch of grass, shook the clay from it on his front legs and immediately put it into his mouth.

Here's your second benefit! said Bicolor Python, Rock Serpent. - You should try to do it with your old nose! By the way, have you noticed that the sun has become too hot?

Perhaps so! - said the Elephant. - And he himself, not knowing how he did it, scooped up some silt with his trunk from the dirty, muddy-green Limpopo River and slapped it on his head: the silt broke into a wet cake, and whole streams of water flowed behind the Elephant's ears.

Here's your third benefit! said the Two-Colored Python, the Rock Serpent. And by the way, what do you think about cuffs now?

Forgive me, please, - said the Baby Elephant, - but I really don’t like cuffs.

How about pissing off someone else? said Bicolor Python, Rock Serpent.

This is me ready! - said the Elephant.

You don't know your nose yet! said Bicolor Python, Rock Serpent. “It's just a treasure, not a nose.

Thank you, - said the Elephant, - I will take note of this. And now it's time for me to go home; I will go to my lovely relatives and check my nose on my family.

And the Elephant went through Africa, having fun and waving his trunk. He wants fruits - he plucks them directly from the tree, and does not stand and does not wait, as before, for them to fall to the ground.

He wants grass - he tears it right from the ground, and does not fall to his knees, as happened before.

Flies bother him - he plucks a branch from a tree and waves it like a fan. The sun is hot - he will immediately lower his trunk into the river - and now he has a cold, wet blotch on his head. It is boring for him to roam around Africa alone - he plays songs with his trunk, and his trunk is louder than hundreds of copper pipes.

He deliberately turned off the road to find the Behemoth, give it a good beating and see if Bicolor Python told him the truth about his new nose. Having beaten Behemoth, he went along the old road and picked up from the ground those melon peels that he scattered on the way to Limpopo - because he was a Clean Thick-skinned.

It was getting dark when one fine evening he came home to his dear relatives. He curled his trunk into a ring and said:

Hello! How are you doing?

They rejoiced terribly at him and immediately said with one voice:

Come on, come on over here, we'll give you cuffs for your unbearable curiosity.

Eh, you! - said the Elephant. - You know a lot about cuffs! Here is what I understand about this. Do you want me to show you?

And he turned his trunk, and immediately two of his dear brothers flew upside down from him.

We swear by bananas, - they shouted, - where are you so pricked up and what's wrong with your nose?

This nose is new to me and it was given to me by the Crocodile - on the dirty, muddy green Limpopo River, - said the Baby Elephant. - I started a conversation with him about what he eats at dinner, and he gave me a new nose as a keepsake.

Ugly nose! - said the hairy, shaggy uncle Pavian. - Perhaps, - said the Elephant, - but useful!

And he grabbed the hairy leg of the hairy uncle Baboon and, swinging it, threw it into the hornet's nest.

And this ugly Baby Elephant went so far that he beat off all his dear relatives. They bulged their eyes at him in amazement. He pulled out almost all of her feathers from the tail of the lanky aunt Ostrich; he grabbed the long-legged Uncle Giraffe by the hind leg and dragged him through the thorn bushes; with a whoop, he began to blow bubbles right into the ear of his fat aunt Behemoth, when she dozed in the water after dinner, but he did not allow anyone to offend the Kolokolo bird.

It got to the point that all his relatives - some earlier, some later - went to the dirty, muddy green Limpopo River, surrounded by trees that make people feverish, so that the Crocodile would give them the same nose.

When they returned, the relatives no longer fought, and since then, my boy, all the elephants that you will ever see, and even those that you will never see, all have the same trunk as this curious Baby Elephant.

(Translated by K. Chukovsky, ill. V. Duvidov, from. Ripol Classic, 2010)

Published by: Mishkoy 16.11.2017 18:05 09.09.2019

Confirm Rating

Rating: 4.6 / 5. Number of ratings: 107

Help make the materials on the site better for the user!

Write the reason for the low rating.

Send

Thanks for the feedback!

Read 6248 time(s)

Other Kipling Tales

Kangaroo Dad's Request - Rudyard Kipling
The tale of how a kangaroo began to ask the younger god Nka to make him different from other animals. And by all means by five o'clock in the afternoon ... The request of daddy kangaroo to read Daddy Kangaroo was always hot, but in ...
How the Leopard Became Spotted - Rudyard Kipling
The tale will tell about how the leopard got spots. And also why the Ethiopian became black, and the zebra striped ... How the leopard became spotted read In those ancient times when all creatures had just begun to live ...
The sea crab that played with the sea - Rudyard Kipling
The fairy tale will tell about how the ebb and flow appeared, and why the crab loses its shell ... The sea crab that played with the sea read In the most ancient times, in times that were earlier than the old times - in a word, ...

King Arthur's Cave - English tale
Story about young man named Evan, who went to London to get rich and met an old man who told him about the treasures of King Arthur. King Arthur's Cave read In a remote Welsh village, a young man lived on ...
Why Brother Possum Has a Bare Tail - Harris D.C.
One day, Brother Possum was very hungry. Brother Rabbit sent him to Brother Bear's garden to feast on dates, and he himself ran after the Bear to say that someone was messing with his garden. Why does Brother Possum have a naked...
Black pool - Kozlov S.G.
A fairy tale about a cowardly Hare who was afraid of everyone in the forest. And he was so tired of his fear that he decided to drown himself in the Black Pool. But he taught the Hare to live and not be afraid! Black pool read Once upon a time there was a Hare ...

Muffin bakes a pie

Hogarth Ann

One day the donkey Muffin decided to bake a delicious pie exactly according to the recipe from the cookbook, but all his friends intervened in the preparation, each adding something of his own. In the end, the donkey decided not to even try the pie. Muffin bakes a cake...

Muffin is unhappy with his tail

Hogarth Ann

Once it seemed to the donkey Mafin that he had a very ugly tail. He was very upset and his friends began to offer him their spare tails. He tried them on, but his tail was the most comfortable. Muffin is unhappy with his tail read ...

Muffin is looking for treasure

Hogarth Ann

The story is about how the donkey Mafin found a piece of paper with a plan where the treasure was hidden. He was very happy and decided to immediately go in search of him. But then his friends came and also decided to find treasures. Muffin is looking for...

Muffin and his famous zucchini

Hogarth Ann

Donkey Muffin decided to grow a large zucchini and win with him at the upcoming exhibition of vegetables and fruits. He looked after the plant all summer, watered and sheltered from the hot sun. But when it's time to go to the exhibition, ...

Charushin E.I.

The story describes the cubs of various forest animals: a wolf, a lynx, a fox and a deer. Soon they will become big handsome beasts. In the meantime, they play and play pranks, charming, like any kids. Volchishko A little wolf lived in the forest with his mother. Gone...

Who lives like

Charushin E.I.

The story describes the life of a variety of animals and birds: a squirrel and a hare, a fox and a wolf, a lion and an elephant. A grouse with grouse cubs A grouse walks through the clearing, protecting the chickens. And they are roaming, looking for food. Not flying yet...

Ragged Ear

Seton-Thompson

A story about Molly the rabbit and her son, who was nicknamed Ragged Ear after being attacked by a snake. Mom taught him the wisdom of survival in nature and her lessons were not in vain. Ragged ear read Next to the edge ...

Animals of hot and cold countries

Charushin E.I.

Small interesting stories about animals living in different climatic conditions: in the hot tropics, in the savannah, in the northern and southern ice, in the tundra. Lion Beware, zebras are striped horses! Beware, fast antelopes! Beware, big-horned wild buffaloes! …

What is everyone's favorite holiday? Of course, New Year! On this magical night, a miracle descends to earth, everything sparkles with lights, laughter is heard, and Santa Claus brings long-awaited gifts. A huge number of poems are dedicated to the New Year. AT …

In this section of the site you will find a selection of poems about the main wizard and friend of all children - Santa Claus. Many poems have been written about the kind grandfather, but we have selected the most suitable for children aged 5,6,7. Poems about…

Winter has come, and with it fluffy snow, blizzards, patterns on the windows, frosty air. The guys rejoice at the white flakes of snow, get skates and sleds from the far corners. Work is in full swing in the yard: they are building a snow fortress, an ice hill, sculpting ...

A selection of short and memorable poems about winter and the New Year, Santa Claus, snowflakes, a Christmas tree for junior group kindergarten. Read and learn short poems with children 3-4 years old for matinees and New Year's holidays. Here …