How The Elephant Got His Long Trunk Coincidence

It looks like Rudyard Kipling's story The Elephant's Child was all true, well judging by these photos anyway - quite a coincidence.

Below is the pic from Kipling's 1902 classic story and above is a scene caught on camera by photographer Johan Opperman in the Kruger National Park.



Kipling's Just So story told of how elephants come to have long noses or trunks. The little elephant was looking for a crocodile and then he found him:

"Come hither, Little One," said the Crocodile, "for I am the Crocodile," and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true.

Then the Elephant's Child grew all breathless, and panted, and kneeled down on the bank and said, "You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?"

"Come hither, Little One," said the Crocodile, "and I'll whisper."

Then the Elephant's Child put his head down close to the Crocodile's musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his little nose, which up to that very week, day, hour, and minute, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful.

"I think," said the Crocodile - and he said it between his teeth, like this - "I think today I will begin with Elephant's Child!"

At this, O Best Beloved, the Elephant's Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, "Led go! You are hurtig be!"

But all was not lost:

Then the Elephant's Child sat back on his little haunches, and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose began to stretch. And the Crocodile floundered into the water, making it all creamy with great sweeps of his tail, and he pulled, and pulled, and pulled.

And the Elephant's Child's nose kept on stretching; and the Elephant's Child spread all his little four legs and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose kept on stretching; and the Crocodile threshed his tail like an oar, and he pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and at each pull the Elephant's Child's nose grew longer and longer - and it hurt him hijjus!

Then the Elephant's Child felt his legs slipping, and he said through his nose, which was now nearly five feet long, "This is too butch for be!"

The Elephant's child eventually broke free from the crocodile but with a very much longer nose from all of that pulling and stretching.

And that is why today elephants now have long trunks. According to experts, crocodiles rarely attack elephants though, perhaps, baby elephants sometimes look tasty at lunch times.

This coincidence story was first published on 67 Not Out.

Other Coincidence Stories:
Mother And Daughter Have Same Dream When Grandpa Died
67 Years After The D-Day Landings They Meet By Coincidence
A Coincidence Thousands Of Miles From Home

There are now around 200 coincidence stories on this blog.