The Elephant, with His Nose so long,
Who thought His Face looked EVER so wrong,
Journeyed to the Banks, there, met a Croc,
Who grabbed His Nose in Sharp Teeth and locked!
And He pulled,
And He pulled,
And He pulled
'Til the Nose was all stretched out and sore,
Elephant's Nose, longer than before,
He said, wheezing, "NOW what do I do??
My poor Dose hurts, it's all black and blue!"
And He cried,
And He cried,
And He cried,
"Mama's gonna kill me, She'll kill Me dead!
Why don't I use de brains in My Head?
I'm not suppose to go to de Banks,
O, my Dose! Why'd I let dat Croc yank?"
And He thought,
And He thought,
And He thought
About some things He could tell His Mom,
But She would explode, just like a bomb,
Better go and just confess the crime,
Maybe Mama wouldn't wig...THIS time,
And He prayed,
And He prayed,
And He prayed
That Mama would (somehow) understand,
Or would He have to hide in the Sand?
Mama saw Him, Her Face turned pure white,
"Where have you been?? O, You look a FRIGHT!!"
And He moped,
And He moped,
And He moped
Knowing that He already felt bad,
Mama was prob'ly gonna get MAD,
But Mama surprised Her little Son,
She gave Him a hug, a great BIG one!
And She hugged,
And She hugged,
And She hugged
The grey neck of Her Elephant Son,
Fixed His Nose, and then, when She was done,
He found He looked better than before...
He don't disobey Mama no more!!

UZURI WA MKAKASI, NDANI KIPANDE CHA MTI
(KISWAHILI PROVERB): Beauty is only
skin deep.

(C) Karla Dorman, 2003