9 A Useful Nose

A Useful Nose written by Pam Holden illustrated by Samer Hatam

While Baby Elephant was growing up, he was clumsy with his trunk. He bumped things with it and tripped on it. "Why do I have this long, useless nose?" he grumbled to Mother Elephant. "It gets in my way." His mother patted him gently with her trunk. "It is time for you to go to Elephant School to learn how to use your trunk," she told him. "You will be surprised what good things you can do with it."

A wise old elephant was ready to teach the baby elephants. "Good morning, young elephants," she said on the first day. "I will teach you about the most useful nose in the whole world. You will learn why you are luckier than any of the other animals. Their noses are only used for two things — breathing and smelling things. No other animal has a trunk. You can use your trunk to do lots of clever things."

The first thing the teacher showed the baby elephants was how to say hello with their trunks. They touched each other's trunks, like people shaking hands. Then they learned how to pick things up with their trunks and carry them around. "You can feel things with the tip of your trunk to find out what they are," said the teacher.

Next, the young elephants wanted to find something to eat, so they lifted their trunks in the air, moving them from side to side until they could smell leaves and berries. Soon they were pulling plants from the ground and stuffing them into their mouths. When Baby Elephant could not reach the fruit on a high branch, the teacher showed him how to wrap his trunk around the tree to shake it until the fruit fell.

The food made the elephants thirsty, so they went to the waterhole for a drink. They learned to suck water into their trunks and then pour it into their mouths. Baby Elephant found that he could stay under the cool water for a long time by keeping the tip of his trunk sticking out like a snorkel. The teacher-showed them how to wash themselves by spraying water all over their bodies like a shower. "Your trunk can help keep you safe from insects and sunburn," said the teacher. "Just spray dust and mud onto your wet skin!"