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Abu
and Sian were two mischievous elephants that lived near Aswan, in the Nile
River. Abu had big floppy ears, four trunk-like legs, two long, ivory
tusks, and tough, leathery hide. Sian looked much the same, however, she
was bigger than Abu.
One day, the two of them were swimming
about in the Nile, when Abu spotted a felucca sailing down the river
towards them. “Sian, here comes a boat. Let’s squirt the people in it,” he
suggested.
Sian began to laugh. “That sounds fun.
Quick, get under the water and then when they pass nearby, jump up and
squirt them.”
The felucca, with its fluttering white
sail, floated by, unaware of the two elephants hiding under the water.
Suddenly, Abu and Sian jump up and drench the people in the boat with a
shower of river water. “Oh no, I’m all wet,” shouted a woman. Her hair was
dripping like two soggy, limp ropes.
“My new suit is ruined,” cried a man,
trying to wipe the water off of his jacket.
Abu and Sian laughed at the people as the
felucca sailed away.
Ali, the man who was taking the tourists
out for a sail, was very angry at the elephants, but they didn’t seem to
worry about it and kept on laughing.
Soon they were back swimming about in the
river. A little while later Abu spotted another felucca sailing towards
them. “Another boat,” he laughed, pointing with his trunk.
The two elephants ducked under the water.
As the felucca sailed by with its white sail rippling in the hot desert
wind, Abu and Sian jumped up and sprayed everyone on the boat. A little
boy started to cry when he got squirted in the face. His mama wasn’t happy
with the elephants. Abu and Sian laughed, and laughed, as the felucca
sailed away.
The elephants went back to swimming
around in the deep blue water of the river Nile. As the sun lowered in
the sky, the elephants got out of the river and lay in the papyrus reeds
that grew along the Nile’s banks. They’d had a busy day of swimming and
spraying, and were feeling tired. Abu soon fell asleep, followed a while
later by Sian.
The two feluccas sailed back up the river
and noticed the sleeping elephants. Remembering what the elephants had
done, Ali said, “Shhh, I have an idea.” He motioned for the other felucca
to follow him. They docked their boats along the side of the Nile and
climbed out very quietly. The little boy and his mama followed, so did the
man in the suit, and the woman with wet hair. Ali grabbed a hose that was
attached to a faucet on a well. It was used to provide water for the
camels that carried people back and forth.
Ali carried the hose and walked up to the sleeping elephants. He
mouthed the words, “Turn it on,” to the man in the suit. The hose burst to
life, as Ali squirted the elephants with icy cold water.
Abu and Sian jumped up. Abu screamed, “Ahhhhhhhhh, that’s cold!”
His trunk swung around madly as he tried to protect himself from the
spraying water.
Sian danced about, smashing all the reeds around her. “Stop it!
Stop it! Turn that water off!” she trumpeted.
Ali started to laugh. The little boy started to laugh, so did his
mama. The man in the suit burst out laughing, as did the other boat owner.
Abu and Sian stomped up and down on the ground. Water ran down
their faces into their mouths, dripped off of their eyelashes into their
eyes, and ran into their ears. They were angry.
“Now you know how it feels,” chortled
the little boy. The people turned and walked away, got back into the
feluccas and sailed away.
The two elephants stood in silence. They realized that it wasn’t
fun to be sprayed, after all. From then on, when the two elephants were
playing in the Nile, they never squirted the people who sailed by in
feluccas again. Instead they waved hello with their trunks and trumpeted
happily. |
