ForumGarden

Write a story a la Rudyard Kipling.

How did the giraffe get its long neck?

How did the leopard get its spots?

How did the tiger get its stripes?

You get the drift... Make up a story of your own. Be as creative as possible.

HOW THE LION GOT ITS MANE

A long time ago, the lion used to be covered in long hair. Its hair was so long that when it ran across the plains it looked much like a tumbleweed being blown by the wind.

One lion in particular, Samuel, had a fierce level of competition. Whenever there was a challenge or a race Samuel was the first to cross the finish line. If you've never seen two tumbleweed race across a field then you have no idea how hard it was to judge which won. Samuel was extremely fast and he always won as he finished a half mile ahead of the competition. Until, one day, Samuel's friend Rasha became tired of listening to Samuel's bragging and challenged him to a race. The two friends had never competed before and there was much talk amongst the pride as to which might win.

On the day of the big race, all the animals had turned out to watch. Samuel strutted around, as usual, but all eyes were on Rasha. Everyone secretly hoped that Rasha would be the one to finally end Samuel's bragging. They lined up and the race was off. To Samuel's dismay, Rasha kept up with him. By half way, Rasha seemed to take the lead but it was hard to tell. As they crossed the finish line a raucous cheer arose. It seemed that Rasha had won.

Samuel didn't take the loss well. He insisted that he had been in front and only their fur had hidden which paws had crossed the line first. Though the rest of the pride disagreed, Rasha agreed to a rematch. This time, the hair on their feet was trimmed short so that the winner could clearly be seen. The second race was held. They finished paw to paw. It was a tie.

Having noticed that he moved faster when his feet were shaved, Samuel went into a patch of teasels and rolled and rubbed. He rolled and rubbed against the teasels until almost all his fur had been brushed down close to his skin. The only hair left was the mane around his face. Samuel's skin was too sensitive to risk damaging his face. On the day of the race the other lions laughed at his silliness. But...when the time came for the race Rasha was left in the dust. No lion had ever run as fast. From that day on, all the lions rubbed against the teasels so they could run as fast as Samuel. Eventually the hair stopped growing back. And that's how the lion got its mane.

This is about how the elephant got it's long trunk and I wish I could have gotten one being read cuz it is such fun to hear. Love this story by Rudyard Kipling.

ooops.....wrong story....be back

http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/elephant.htm

My daughter wrote this for me! She's 11.

Thanks, sweetie! I love you.

How the Elephant got its Trunk

By: Enya



Deep in the Diallo Forest there lived a large tribe of elephants. They

were all a normal tribe of average elephants except for one thing; they all

had short noses. One of these elephants was named Anando. Anando was a very

gentle and caring elephant, but there was one problem. As dear as Anando

was; he was treated differently because he was chubby. All the other

elephants were strong and athletic, but not poor Anando. His mother, Delu,

was worried about him because the other elephants made fun of him all the

time.

One day, when Anando was walking around feeling sorry for him self, he

noticed a bird in a nearby tree. This was no ordinary bird, it was a

beautiful bird. The magical bird was a brilliant aquamarine colour with

magenta wings. Anando was hypnotized by the bird's beauty and decided to go

over to the bird to say hello. "Hello", said Anando shyly, "My name is

Anando, what is your's?". "I'm Jendayi", the bird replied. "What type of

bird are you?", Anando asked curiously. "I am a One-Of-A-Kind", Jendayi

announced proudly. "Why are you here Jendayi?". "I am here to visit Poni,

the wise ruler of the Diallo Forest". "May I tag along with you? I have

nothing better to do" Anando said sadly. "Of course" Jendayi said warmly

"Let's go".

So Anando and Jendayi set off on their journey to Poni's hut in the

heart of the forest. The Diallo Forest has special trees called Oringo

Trees. Oringo trees are trees that do you a favor if you talk to them. They

are very popular in this Forest. Anando and Jendayi had only been walking

for 2 hours when they reached a huge, muddy lake in the middle of the path

leading to Poni's hut. "Here, climb onto my back so you won't get your

feathers wet", offered Anando kindly. "Thank you" Jendayi said, relieved

that her delicate feathers wouldn't get damp. Just as Anando was about to

stick his large foot into the murky water, an animal made a dive for him.

Fortunately Anando was too quick for the creature and dodged out of the way.

Once the two friends were safely on land Anando felt it was safe to speak.

"What kind of animal are you?" asked Anando as politely as he could

manage. "I am a crocodile" the animal answered. "Please Mr. Crocodile, me

and my companion must get through the lake, we are traveling together to

Poni's hut to ask for a wish" Anando said, choosing his words carefully. "We

must get across" . "Obviously you are not familiar with the character traits

of a crocodile, we eat other animals. You would only try to come back into

the lake if you were incredibly foolish" replied the crocodile slyly. "I

see", said Anando, "What if we made a bargain? We'll do something for you,

if you let us cross your lake.". "Ha", laughed the crocodile, "There is

nothing you can give me that I don't already have, except for lunch of

course". "He's trying to trick us Anando", Jendayi said wisely, "He want's

us to be that lunch". "Come Jendayi, I need to talk to you in private"

Anando walked Jendayi over to a tiny bunch of trees and spilled out his

plan of how the two friends were to get across. "So, this is my plan...I go

out to distract the crocodile, while you stay here and talk to the Oringo

trees grant you a favor, I'll make an excuse for why you are not with me.

Will it work?". "I think it will work beautifully," Jendayi said

enthusiastically. So Anando went off towards the crocodile. "Where is your

bright coloured companion?", the crocodile asked lazily. "She went to take a

nap, anyway. You're such a brave, intelligent, and handsome crocodile"

Anando complimented. "Why thank you," The crocodile said, flattered by

Anando's words. Meanwhile, Jendayi was having a rather boring one-way

conversation with the group of Oringo trees. "So," Jendayi started off

shyly, "My friend and I really need a favor, so I'll tell you a story. Once

upon a time, there was a marvelous castle owned by wonderful King Pugi..." .

While Jendayi continued her story, Anando was continuously flattering the

selfish crocodile, giving Jendayi plenty of time because the crocodile never

got tired of hearing positive compliments made about him.

". And King Pugi and Queen Lolly lived happily ever after. The End.",

Jendayi finished the story. "Tell us your wish, and we will make it happen",

the well satisfied trees told Jendayi. "Anando!", Jendayi yelled. Anando

knew at once that Jendayi was ready for him to come and tell her the wish.

Anando ran of to help Jendayi without uttering a word more to the crocodile.

When he finally got to an overjoyed Jendayi he whispered to her, "Jendayi,

tell the trees you want us both to be across the lake without touching it".

Jendayi repeated the same word to the trees and a millisecond later, the two

were on the opposite side of the lake. "We did it!", they cried happily.

They had only 2 more hours of traveling to do! The two hours passed quickly

for the two friends who were having fun playing games and chatting on the

way.

Finally, they reached Poni's hut. Surrounding the pretty little house

were gardens full of flowers. Poni had tulip, rose, daisy, daffodil,

bluebell, and dahlia flower beds around her home. Poni was sitting on her

throne made of flowers and vines hanging from the ceiling. Poni was a

flamingo, a violet flamingo to be exact. "Hello good friends", Poni said

warmly, "I have heard about the way Jendayi satisfied a small group of

Oringo with a thrilling story. I would like to thank you by granting you 2

wishes. "Well, thank you Poni. I would like to give one of my wishes to my

good friend, Anando.", Jendayi stated. "Sure Jendayi", smiled Poni, "What

will your wish be?". "My wish is.to have a small island close to Diallo

Forest for my own.". "Good wish", complimented Poni, "Now, Anando, what will

your wish be?". Anando thought about the question for a few moments and then

came to an answer, "I wish that all elephants were chubby like me, and I

wish that we all had longer noses because then we would all be similar",

Anando said decidedly. Poni closed her eyes, and then all of a sudden

Anando's nose was longer! Across the ocean they could see the paradise

island Jendayi could wish for.

"I guess this is good-bye", Jendayi said sadly to Anando, "I'll come and

visit soon though. Bye Anando! "Bye Jendayi, see you soon", cried Anando

after her. Poni came up behind him and told him quietly, "I'll use magic to

make you appear at your herd's home.". In less then a second, he was back at

home, and every one was like him. "We are sorry we made fun of you. We look

better now thanks to you.", the elephants said to Anando. "It's ok", Anando

said happily. Jendayi and Anando stayed close friends and saw each other

many times. So, Anando's wish was the reason the elephant got its useful

trunk. The End.