Pant that elephant

He had lived the few years of his life on the planet happily. He liked playing and being taken care of. His curiosity ensured that he loved to question everybody who crossed his path. We humans have thresholds as far as questions are concerned. We usually cannot take more than 5 unrelated questions at a time. If the questions are related, the one who is asking should stop after the second question. Fortunately for humans, we learn this rule of life only after reaching schools else humans would have been extinct by now. Since he had not begun his formal education yet, he was not aware of this rule.

That day was a good day for him. I mean all his days were good but the days he spent at his grandparent’s house were better. To top it his lazy uncle honoured him by visiting him. The uncle had locked his laziness in a cupboard prior to visiting. So the day was spent in playing and answering questions. In the afternoon, the boy's father decided to take the boy and the uncle to a zoo close by. Zoos involved walking and the uncle usually did not visit them. But on that day, he was not his usual self and so agreed readily.

The zoo turned out to be like a zoo. There were a few animals and birds locked up in cages. Humans in the 20th century did not have the fine sensibility of their counterparts in the 21st century. So their hearts did not bleed for the cruelty meted out towards their fellow planet-mates. As a result, many humans during the 20th century actually enjoyed watching animals, birds and reptiles in a cage. The elephants did not live in cages though. Maybe were too big for cages. But that does not mean their lives were better than the lives of the caged animals. Humans ensured that the elephants too had their share of misery.

During the walk through the zoo, they encountered an elephant, which was shaking its head. When I say “encountered” I mean the default font size “encountered” and not a size 32 red coloured bold “encountered”; the one that means “casual meeting with someone”. One look at the animal was sufficient for the grownups to realize that the elephant was a bull. The boy was too young to understand this vital information but he was intrigued by something that hung between the elephant's hind legs. He searched through his head and found all the information he had about elephants.

Trunk – check

Mouth - check

Ears - check

Eyes - check

Body - check

Tail - check

Legs – check

That thing between the hind legs – uncheck

He was stumped. He had many pictures of elephants and none of them had it. Even the live ones he had seen did not possess that thing. What was this thing? There was only one way for him to find.

"Papa, what is that hanging between the elephants legs?"

There was a stunned silence. The father nearly tripped on a non-existent stone. He looked at the elephant and then his son. He did not look at the uncle, who did not look at him either for he was studying the greyness of the road with great intent. The father cleared his throat and said "that is its leg, beta."

"No papa. Not the legs. They are on the sides. What about that thing between the elephant's hind legs?"

"That's the tail, beta".

"No papa. The tail is on the elephant’s back. Can't you see the elephant swaying its tail? I am talking about that" said the little master of curiosity pointing at his object of interest.

By now, the father and uncle were sweating. The uncle did not dare to stop studying the beauty of the road. As the questions were addressed at the father, he had no choice but to answer the question. "Beta, that is the elephant's trunk." The boy was by now losing his patience and repeated his query by providing detailed description of the object in question. The father and uncle looked at each other shocked. The father pushed the boy along saying "Chalo beta it's getting dark." The boy walked unhappily; from time to time he turned back and looked at the elephant and its odd attachment.

Many years have passed and the boy has grown up enough to not ask too many questions. In a week’s time, he will be married and for his own sake, I hope his passion for questions would reduce further.