Jumbo Dumbo

Sometimes I have quite a vivid imagination (except for when some people ask me about certain likes and dislikes...), and this morning I had a film rolling in my head that totally cracked me up. Talked to my father on the phone, and for some reason he told me about a nature program he'd watched on the telly. I must admit I only listened with one ear, but when he said the program had been about African elephants, more specifically the lesser known Forest Elephant, the first scene suddenly opened up in my mind. Instantly I imagined Attenborough's accent and hushed, excited delivery guiding us through the African Wilderness: "He-eah... in the rain forest of the Congo Basin... we can find... the Hidden Giants." So far this could actually have been authentic, but to Attenborough's narration I also added the drawings of Larson, which made all the difference... In perfect Far Side-style I could see program host lurking among the trees, while trying to spot the elephants. Attenborough explains about these animal's peculiar behavior and tilts his head upwards. "There... hiding in the crown of the tree... an elephant is sitting... cautiously looking down on us." In my head now the whole herd is doing strange things up there - some are awkwardly climbing the boles of the trees; one or two are sleeping, hanging down like bats, only using their trunks to hold on to the branches; and others are peeling bananas like chimps.

Reminds me of one of those jokes I learned as a kid (why do I always remember the old bad ones...):

-Why do elephants wear red sneakers?
-Don't know.
-So, no one can spot them while stealing cherries in the cherry tree.
-Have you ever seen an elephant in a cherry tree?
-No.
-Well, there you go. It works!