The Intuitive Elephant

This was a informal essay I had to write for school last week. It was only allowed to take up one page, so it's rather short. My great-grandfather used to tell me this story, which is true. When he was a little boy and lived in British-controlled India, his father worked as a surveyor for the government and he owned the elephant in the story.

           "Halloo! You there! Yes, you! Take us to Kanpur," the British soldier commanded, gesturing towards the behemoth beast of burden. The man calmly yawned and stretched before finally arising and responding to the mandate. Back in a day which youngsters might now consider ancient, this man was known as a mahoot. His sole job was to train and care for the monstrous animal, including his feet, at which the soldiers had just flung their belongings.

            "I am sorry sir, I cannot take you to the next town," answered the mahoot, emphatically.

            "You must take us! We are soldiers of the queen. We protect your country. The least you could do is give us a ride!"

            "No sir, I cannot take you," the Indian mahoot wobbled his head in a small figure eight, and slowly uncovered a raw spot on the beast's back. "He has a sore on his back and cannot be ridden."

            "We have an appointment in Kanpur and must go immediately. I command you to take us."

            "Very well, but elephant's can do strange things when they are unhappy." The mahoot looked apologetically at his charge as he gently placed the blanket and saddle on the elephant's back and loaded the soldiers' female-sized wardrobes. Assisting the soldiers onto the animal and then finally climbed on himself,  he situated himself just-so over the beast's neck, so he could steer the animal by pushing his feet behind the ears.  Soon the trio were off, the military personnel comfortably reclining and the mahoot soporifically steering. Eventually they arrived at a stretch of pathway that meandered beside a rice field. Sharp young minds might recall that rice grows in large flats of knee deep water, and so it was in this case. Suddenly, the elephant stopped. Gingerly at first, then more pronounced, the animal began swaying from side to side. Soon the saddle was tilting precariously.

            "What's the meaning of this!?" asked the soldiers, quickly made aware of the movement.

            "I don't know sir," responded the mahoot innocently.

            After several seconds, the beast was swaying drastically. With a final shove, the soldiers and their belongings were bathing  in the muddy rice paddy, issuing profanities not repeatable.   The mahoot seemed to say "I told you so", and the elephant looked quite pleased with himself.