How Elephant failed to become king

By Winsley Masese

Long time ago, the animals of the jungle decided to elect a king. Elephant and Lion were interested in the position.

"Lion always listens to what other animals tell him, unlike Elephant," argued Gazelle.

Warthog did not like this.

"Listening to the advice of small animals would ruin Elephant’s leadership skills," Warthog said.

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"Since the small animals do not have big bodies to command authority, that is an excuse to ensure that Elephant never wins," Warthog went on.

He whispered in Elephant’s ear that Gazelle was against his leadership.

"I must teach Gazelle a lesson when I become king," Elephant said.

On Election Day, Elephant woke up a bit late and went to the polling station. To get to the other side, one had to cross a huge river that ran across the jungle.

It had rained heavily the previous night and the sound of the raging river sounded like the other animals were applauding him. "Hear the river welcome me to the king’s palace," he said merrily.

Not far from the riverbank, two frogs jumped out of the river and sat on stones. They warned Elephant against crossing the river.

"You ugly creatures get out of my way," he thundered and the frogs gave way.

Lion had also tried to cross the river earlier. He listened to the frogs’ warning.

"You speak well and you are beautiful," he said. Lion then took a different route to the polling station.

The raging river was too difficult for Elephant to cross. "Leave me alone!" he said as his hind leg got stuck in the mud.

He struggled and struggled and by the time he got out, the animals had decided to elect Lion, thinking Elephant had dropped out of the elections.

Lesson: Listen to advice, no matter how small or ‘ugly’ the person it comes from is.