Rosie's Raspberry

One, hot July day, while I was at the zoo, I came upon a man who appeared to be very upset and anxious. He told me his wife had dropped her cell phone into the orangutan enclosure and asked me if I could call someone to get it back. I immediately got out my cell phone and call the security office. I told the officer who answered that I was standing just outside the front entrance to the orangutan exhibit and that I had a man there who needed help retrieving his wife's cell phone. The officer told me he would be calling the orangutan keepers to let them know what had happened and where to find the dropped cell phone. 

We waited a few minutes and up drove Officer Tom in his little golf cart. Since it was the middle of Summer, he was dressed in his navy blue uniform, complete with tight shorts and utility belt. Officer Tom asked where the cell phone was located and I showed him the object lying just below the bridge that runs alongside of the enclosure. The phone was not actually inside of the enclosure, but lay just outside of the mesh fence down in a small gully. It was clearly visible near one of the pylons of the bridge. We all waited for the keeper to appear. Minutes went by. Officer Tom called in to find out what was going on -- apparently the keeper was at the other end of the enclosure looking for the phone. Officer Tom obtained permission to climb over the fence, himself, and down into the gully to retrieve the phone. He easily hopped over the fence and made his way down towards the bridge pylon where the phone lay. Just as he was bending over to pick up the cell phone, Rosie, one of the female orangutans came up behind him, stuck out her tongue, took a deep breath, and aimed a wet raspberry at the officer's behind. 

" Pbluthuuuuuu!!!"

Officer Tom jumped, let out a yell and hopped, no dived back over the fence as quickly as he could. Then, he handed the cell phone to the startled man, got back into his little golf cart with as much dignity as he could and drove away.

I could not help laughing, and Rosie was laughing, too.

Image borrowed from unravelcat.wordpress.com

An Elephant Tale

Trevor's Trick

The above photograph was taken by the author.

One fine, sunny and very warm day in Spring, I was watching Trevor the bull Asian elephant at the zoo as he was playing in the sprinklers, you know, one of those Rain Bird sprinklers that shoot out a big, long stream of water high up into the air in a graceful arc. Trevor the elephant was standing in the stream of the water letting it play on his face and head and back. Occasionally, he would lift his trunk and open up his mouth to let the water shoot into his mouth, then fill his trunk with water and squirt it up and back over his head and back. He seemed to be having a great time playing in the water. 

Nearby, some workmen were working on the elephant exhibit, hammering and sawing, driving machinery, digging holes, and planting flowers. As I watched Trevor playing in the sprinkler, I notice one of the workmen coming along the path that ran along the side of the enclosure. He was wheeling a wheelbarrow full of small plants. It was a very hot day, and the workman was wearing jeans and a tank top, as well as his construction hardhat.

As the workman began to pass Trevor, I noticed that the elephant appeared to glance over his left shoulder, and then took a definite step to the right allowing the water from the sprinkler to go past him. The stream of water shot over Trevor’s shoulder and hit the workman right in the face and upper body! Then, before you knew it, Trevor was back in front of the sprinkler, again, his head bobbing, his ears flapping, his tail wagging, and his shoulders shaking.

I could swear to you that that elephant was laughing!

[Who says animals don't have a sense of humor!]

A Good Deed is Rewarded (or How the African Crane Got Its Crown)

The above photograph was taken by the author.

The story I am going to tell you today is based upon a traditional animal tale from Africa.  It was adapted from a brief version of a story found in The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes, by Peter Matthiessen and Robert Bateman. It is about a king who likes to hunt, various African animals, and a group of beautiful birds called cranes.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a far away land, there lived an African king who liked to hunt. One day, during a hunt with members of his court, in the land of the Blue Nile, the king became separated from the others in his hunting party and got lost in the swirling sands of the desert. Realizing he was lost and would soon need water, the king began walking across the desert. He walked and he walked and he walked.

As the king was walking and walking, he came upon a herd of antelope, and in a demanding voice, he asked them to help him find water. “Antelope! I am dying of thirst, and I want you to help me find water!” 

The lead antelope took one look at the antelope-skin trousers the king was wearing and replied, “We will not help you to find water because you hunt and kill us.” And the antelope leaped off. The king had no choice but to continue walking across the desert to look for water. He walked and he walked and he walked.

After a day, the king came across a herd of elephants. The king asked them to help him find water. “Elephants, I am dying of thirst, can you please help me to find water?” 

The old matriarch of the elephant herd took one look at the elephant tusk staff the king held in his hand and replied, “We will not help you find water because you hunt and kill us.” And the elephants thundered off. The king had no choice but to continue walking across the desert looking for water. He walked and he walked and he walked.

On the third day, the king spotted a herd of zebras. He approached them and asked them to help him find water. “Please, Zebras, I am dying of thirst, can you help me to find water?”  

The zebra stallion took one look at the zebra skin cape that the king was wearing and replied, “We will not help you find water because you hunt and kill us.” And the zebras galloped off. The king had no choice but to continue walking across the desert looking for water. He walked and he walked and he walked. 

Finally, on the fourth day, when the king was sure he was about to die of thirst, he spotted a flock of cranes. Desperately, he begged them to help him find water. “Please, please, please, dear, beautiful Cranes, can you help me? I am lost in the desert and I need help to find water! None of the other animals I met would help me!” 

The cranes looked him up and down, saw that he was indeed dying of thirst, and that he had been wandering for many days. They also took note of the fact that the king wore nothing made from crane feathers. The leader of the cranes nodded, and all of the cranes flew off.

Dismayed, the king cried out, “Oh, they won’t help me either!” But, just then, the cranes returned, each of them with a crop full of water for the king to drink. When he was finished drinking, several of the cranes lifted the king up into the sky and carried him to a nearby oasis, where he was reunited with the other members of his hunting party. 

The king was overjoyed and very grateful. To thank the cranes for their acts of kindness, the king gave each one a golden crown to wear so that everyone would know how they had helped a king.

The next time the king saw the cranes, however, they were not wearing their golden crowns. When the king asked them why they were not wearing their crowns the lead crane answered, “The other animals were so jealous of us that they stole our beautiful, golden crowns from us.” 

This made the king very angry and so he ordered his court magician to create crowns for the cranes that no other animal could ever take away from them.  The magician waved his magical staff and touched each crane on its head. Abracadabra! Where the magician touched the cranes, gold-colored feathers sprouted. Thus he created beautiful crowns that could never be stolen from the cranes. 

Photograph taken by author.

Conclusion: These were the first African crowned cranes, and, to this day, the African crowned crane has a magnificent, golden crown of feathers on its head. And, so, you see, a good deed will be rewarded. [And, perhaps, the king should think better next time before hunting and killing animals for their skins and ivory.] 

Jelly Bean Tales Introduction

This blog contains original stories, mostly about animals, but some about other subjects. All of the stories are original ones, written by me, unless otherwise noted.  These stories are appropriate for kids of all ages. I hope you enjoy them.

Sunday 

The above photograph was taken by the author.