E T C C O N T E S T S F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
THE CLEVER ELEPHANT
Connor Dunford
Once there was a clever elephant . The elephant was marching in the Carthaginian army with the soldiers and horsemen . The general was leading the army through the Alps . The general was Hannibal , who was brave and clever . The army was marching through the Alps because Hannibal had a plan .
The elephant did not understand the plan , which no one had explained to him , since he was a beast . However , this elephant was a unique beast , for he was more clever than all the other elephants in the army of Carthage .
The elephant said to himself , “ How stupid the Carthaginians are ! Hannibal is a pest ! The cold Alps do not please me . Also , I am tired and hungry . I want to return to Mauretania , in which I had lived , where the land was sunny and where it was not necessary for me to march through the whole day . How unlucky I am !”
Then the elephant said the whole thing in vain to the nearest soldier , but the soldier was not an elephant , therefore he was not able to understand .
Suddenly the elephant stopped and carefully looked around , for he heard strange sounds . Then he caught sight of it : snow and mud were violently rushing down the mountain !
The soldiers and beasts were disordered because they were very much afraid of the sounds . A soldier shouted , “ Oh no , the gods are punishing us ! The wrath of the mountains is coming !”
Amidst the commotion , the elephant suddenly had an idea . Without delay , he very quickly ran out of the crowd and hurried down the mountain . Eventually the very tired elephant stopped in a beautiful valley .
He said to himself , “ Hurray ! How lucky I am ! Now I am free !”
He laughed and said , “ The Carthaginian soldiers are idiots . They were afraid of snow and sounds !”
Then a Roman shepherd , who was living in the valley , heard the elephant . The shepherd was an old man , who had looked after beasts throughout his whole life , so he was able to understand the elephant .
The shepherd said , “ Hello , elephant ! An enemy of Carthage is a friend of Rome !”
And so the shepherd and the elephant were friends , and the elephant was living in the sunny valley , where he was very happy .