Elephants For Kristofer

                                                          Elephants For Kristofer

                                                            By Daryl Campbell



         The zoo is the greatest place Kristofer's ever seen. His dad works at the zoo and is getting him a pet for his birthday.

         The snakes are too scary, slimy skin and sharp teeth. He doesn't trust them.

         Then there's alligators, monsters with big mouths and long tails. He likes them, but there isn't enough room in the pool.

         There's lizards of every color and size, with wings, with sails, and some that climb. He wants one, but isn’t sure it will stay in the backyard.

         There's turtles and he likes them, but they move so slow.

         Next, there are frogs and toads. The sign says that's what they are, but he doesn’t see a difference.

         There's salamanders and newts. As far as he can tell, a salamander is a newt.

         Kristofer doesn’t want a toad, a salamander, a newt, or even a frog.

         There's cats: tigers, panthers, leopards, and some called kings. He doesn’t know if he wants a cat though.

         He sees teddy bears. He knows about black bears and grizzly bears, but never heard of polar bears. He doesn’t pick a bear, everyone he knows already has one.

         “Let’s go see the African animals,” Dad says.

         “Okay,” Kristofer brushes blond hair out his face, “I haven’t found anything I want yet.”

         Dad laughs.

         They walk into the wild savannah, crossing rock walkways and swaying, wooden bridges. Kristofer knows he’s in Africa, he can feel the sun’s heat and hear monsters waiting for him.

         There's something called a rhinoceros. He likes that it has a horn, but he already has a bike with a horn.

         There's tall horses with long necks and are the color of bananas. Dad calls them giraffes. Kristofer wants a giraffe, but shakes his head no.

         Then he sees his pet.

         “Ah,” Dad says, “this is who I brought you to see.”

         The gray animal's a baby, but a very big baby. A long hose hangs from its face and it has huge, flapping ears. Kristofer likes the ears most.

         “What is it?” Kristofer asks.

         “It's an elephant. His name's Joshua,” Dad answers. “We’re gonna feed and clean him today. Elephants like that.”

         Dad knows everything.

         The baby elephant's in a cage of iron bars. There's a large pool surrounded with dirt and yellow grass in the middle. Zachary, a man in a blue uniform, meets Kristofer and his dad at a gate. The gate creaks open and they go in.

         “You’ll need to be careful in here, Kristofer,” Zachary says. “Elephants are dangerous if you don’t treat them right.”

         Raising his nose over his head, Joshua makes a squeaking noise.

         “He’s saying hi,” Dad tells him.

         “He is?” Kristofer asks.

         “He sure is,” Zachary grabs a water hose from a hanger. “He wants to be washed.”

         “Why can’t he take a bath in the water?” Kristofer points to the pool.

         “We clean him once a week, usually when his mom's not here,” Dad answers. “He doesn't like the pool unless she's here.”

         “Where’s his mom?” Kristofer stretches his black t-shirt.

         “She’s getting an exam at the veterinarian,” Zachary says.

         “Veta…narin?” Kristofer doesn’t know what it is.

         “It’s a doctor that makes sure the animals are healthy,” Dad says.

         “His mom will be back in a little while. We need to get Joshua washed and fed before she comes home. You ready?” Zachary stretches out the hose.

         “What do I do?” Kristofer's wants to be responsible if he's going to have a pet.

         “You spray him with water while your dad and I scrub him.” Zachary lifts two brushes, tossing one to Kristofer’s dad. “Grab the hose and twist its nozzle.”

         Kristofer lifts the hose, twisting the metal nozzle. Water pours out as it turns and he sprays the elephant. He laughs as Joshua’s ears flap, splashing water everywhere. The brushes scrub at dirt, lifting it off thick skin and out of the elephant's folds.

         The bath's quick, ending as Joshua and Kristofer battle back and forth with a trunk and a hose. Kristofer's sure this is his pet.

         When it's time for Joshua to eat, fruit and hay are brought out. The elephant uses its trunk to take things from Kristofer’s hand. Then, the day gets better when Kristofer sits on the elephant and goes on a walk around the cage. Dad and Zachary keep him safe, holding Kristofer’s hand as Joshua walks in wide circles.

         It's close to the time Joshua’s mom comes back and, with all the excitement, they forgot to do the cleaning. With a rake in hand, Kristofer works hard to get the cage clean enough for Joshua’s mom. He thinks the mama elephant will like it; his own mom is always proud when he picks up his mess.

         Joshua’s mother gets home and Kristofer finds her amazing. He's seen full grown elephants on TV, but didn't know one would be so big.

         The mama elephant, Heather, is the biggest animal Kristofer's ever seen. She's gray with large, pink ears and a big nose. Trumpeting for everyone to hear, she enters the cage. Her nose brushes Joshua's back, then pulls him close to her.

         She's such a good mom.

         Worn out, Kristofer and his dad are ready to leave. They tell Zachary bye, letting him know they’ll be back, then head for the front gate.

         “So what do you think of the zoo?” Dad asks.

         “I like it.” Kristofer stops suddenly. “I know what pet I want. I want Joshua and his mom.”

         “I bet you do,” Dad smiles, “but an elephant is a big pet to have. I don’t think there's room at the house.”

         “You said I could pick a pet.”

         “I know I did. You showed a lot of responsibility today.” Dad leads him to a gift shop.

         “We can keep Joshua and Heather here for you and you can come with me every other Saturday to feed and clean them.” Dad opens the door.

         “Okay,“ Kristofer agrees.

         They go in the gift shop and Kristofer gets a fluffy, blue elephant. He picks the blue one because it's his favorite color.

         “Let’s go home and make sure mom will let you have elephants.” Dad laughs.

         Kristofer's going to be the first boy at school with two elephants. Imagining how much fun show and tell is gonna be, he gets in dad’s car.