An Elephant Mask Legend
by Nell

Long long ago deep in the heart of Africa there was a clan of elephants. These elephants were not like the ones you and I see today. These elephants only had a trunk one to two inches long. Then one day in the middle of a drought a very special elephant was born. He had a long stretchy trunk that could swing back and forth. All the boy and girl elephants would push him around and call him names. The only elephant that would love and care for him was his mom. Then one day when the water was scarce and the elephants were thirsty the chief got an idea. He pulled the little elephant aside and said. "I spotted a water hole but it's too far down for our little trunks to reach!" "To be able to continue living we need that water!" The little elephant with the long trunk knew just what to do! He marched himself to the water hole where everybody was lethargically laying around. He squeezed through the crowd and stuck his trunk way down into the hole and sucked all the water he could into his trunk. He then sprayed all the other elephants with the wonderful water. He continued this till day turned to dusk. It was then cool enough for the clan to walk to a water hole where there was enough water to last the drought. In honor of this young elephant, nearby tribes who witnessed the event wear a mask of an elephant with a long trunk in times of drought.




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