The Tale of the Green Elephant
September 29, 2013
A big gust of wind came then, and whooshed all the brown dust right off his back. Poor Gravy was gray again. He wasn't giving up, though. As they walked, they passed a large lake. The beautiful blue water shimmered in the sun, and he thought if he jumped in, he could turn blue!
Alas, all he turned was wet. When he came up out of the water, his gray was a shade darker than everyone else's gray, and then another gust of wind came and lightened him up again.
Gravy still wasn't going to give up. He was a little disappointed, but he knew if he kept looking and kept trying, he could change his skin color. Day after day, the herd traveled. They passed cacti, more lakes, and more cacti. After a week of trudging through dust, the herd passed a sweet-smelling gathering of flowers.
Now, these were not ordinary flowers. These flowers were bright red. They were as big as plates. And they were off limits for Gravy to eat. The more clumps of flowers the herd passed, the more that red started to look like it might do the trick. Gravy slowly made his way to the back of the herd. If he wanted to eat any red flowers, he had to make sure no one saw him, because everyone knew he wasn't supposed to eat them.
Once he was sure no one was watching him, he gobbled up lots of flowers. He started to get full but thought he should probably eat a little bit more, just to make sure he ate enough red to change his skin color. When he couldn't eat one more petal, Gravy ambled back toward his spot near his mother.
The minutes ticked by. He started to feel funny. His ears wouldn't flap like before. His trunk wouldn't raise like before. Suddenly, he couldn't take another step. He flopped onto the ground, causing his mother to come running. She gave him a strange look, and Gravy thought maybe he was finally changing color.
"Gravy, did you eat any red flowers?" his mother asked him. She sounded suspicious and looked at him sideways.
"Why, Mama? Am I turning red? Ohhh," Gravy groaned. "I don't feel very well."
And with that, Gravy coughed and all the red flowers he had eaten came rushing up and spilled out onto the ground.
Mother elephant shook her big head. "You aren't red. You are green! Those red flowers make elephants very sick, and when you're sick, you turn green. Rest here for a few minutes, and you should feel better soon."
Mother's eyes were sad, and Gravy felt ashamed of himself. He had disobeyed his mother because he had wanted to change his skin color. He changed his skin color all right, but it sure wasn't what he expected or wanted.
"Mama," Gravy said, "I'm sorry for disobeying you. Next time I think about doing something wrong, I will remember this and obey, instead. Please forgive me."
Mother elephant wrapped her trunk around her baby. "I forgive you, and I'm so glad you learned your lesson. I love you, son."
"I love you too, Mama."
As Gravy sat there cuddled next to his mother, he thought maybe it was a good thing his skin was gray. He didn't get too hot in the sun with the dust and water, and he was never too cold, either, since the sun was always so hot. From now on, he'd be content with the way God made him, because God never makes mistakes with important things like what color your skin is.
The Elephant Scientist
by EJ, as told to his mother on September 29, 2013
Three years passed, and he decided he wanted to be green instead of brown, so he could blend in with live grass. He found some slime that exploded three seconds after being put under a special microscope. He found that microscope and let the slime explode onto him. Guess what color he was? Green! He ran around, looking for a puddle to rinse off in, but the slime dried too fast. And now there is one green elephant somewhere in the world.