Of an Elephant and an Oasis

Aeons and aeons and aeons ago,
The world was an Elephant, tired and slow.
It’s not what they tell you, and yet it was so,
Aeons and aeons and aeons ago.

He stopped by an Oasis to get a drink
(He was in the desert, and had no sink),
And as he drinked he began to think,
As he stopped by the oasis to get a drink.

He thought, “Wouldn’t it be simply grand,
If on my back there was a man
(Like an ape, but smarter with hands)?”
He thought “wouldn’t that be simply grand?”

He took from the Oasis bank a reed
And from the reed he took a seed
He thought, “This reed is what I need.”
As he took from the Oasis bank a reed.

“If I plant this seed upon my back,
On which there is a water lack,
I might as well plant it in a sack,
If I plant this seed upon my back.”

“But if I give it some H2O,
Then my seed will surely grow!”
So to the Oasis he bent down low,
To give his seed some H2O.

He planted the reed upon his skin
And then he poured the water in.
And that is why men are so thin,
`Cuz they were made from reeds on an elephant’s skin.

Then the humans started to make a disc
On top of which they could frolic and frisk.
On an elephant’s back they had great risk,
This is why on his back they made a disc.

The disc was getting very vast
Till the elephant thought: “this cannot last!
My knees are starting to buckle fast!”
`Cuz the disc was getting far too vast.

“If I can only give a shout,
Maybe my friends can help me out!
It seems to be the only route
To lift my trunk and give a shout.”

And then a mighty shout he gave,
Hoping his friends would come and save.
Then came three elephants, looking grave
To answer the shout that their friend gave.

The elephants, though mighty strong,
Could not hold up their burden long.
They said: “Something must be wrong!
We thought that we were mighty strong!

“Our feet will surely come to ruin
If we don’t go to the turtle, A’tuin.”
A’tuin said: ”Please, stop your mooin.
Hop on or your feet will come to ruin.”

They had been there for quite a time,
And were beginning to gather muck and slime,
When A’tuin then proceeded to climb
When they’d been there for quite a time.

A’tuin said: “I hate this place!
I’m going off to swim in space.”
The elephants moaned: “Please, do not race!
We’re perfectly happy in this place.”

Yet A’tuin set off anyway.
And swims in space to this very day.
And he doesn’t seem to be going away,
Though he might just set off anyway


The Beginning