Rudyard Kipling, "Baby Elephant": Summary

One of the most famous English writers was R. Kipling. “Little Elephant” (a summary of the tale is the subject of this review) is a popular children's work that has become part of the cycle of his small compositions for children. This book reflects the basic principles of the writer's work: a vivid expressive language, an interesting plot, fantasy, easy unobtrusive humor.

Introduction

The real master of the literary word was Kipling. “Little Elephant” (a brief summary of the work should begin with a description of the country and the conditions in which the protagonist lived) is largely an instructive work, which, in addition to an entertaining plot, also has an unexpected denouement. At first, the author introduces the reader to the animal kingdom that inhabits Africa, but does so through a description of the amusing behavior of a small elephant, which is too curious and goes out of its way. He asked all the inhabitants of the hottest continent a variety of questions: he asked the ostrich why his feathers grow on his tail, the giraffe - why he has a spotted skin, hippo - why his eyes are red and so on. For this he was always beaten, but the hero continued to be interested in everything that he saw and heard.

kipling elephant summary

Tie

The real master of revitalizing nature is Kipling. “Little Elephant” (a brief summary of the tale must be continued by retelling the episode that served as the beginning of the main character’s adventure) - this is a tale that tries to explain the laws of nature’s development in a child’s form. In this regard, the composition is on a par with another famous work of the author - "Mowgli". So, the impetus for the development of the action was the fact that the hero once wondered what the crocodile eats for lunch. All around again beat him for this curiosity, but he did not calm down and did not abandon his venture. Kipling became famous for his ability to colorfully describe the animal world. “Little Elephant” (a summary of the tale must necessarily include a retelling of the dialogue of the hero with the bird colo-colo, which advised him to check it himself) - this is a work that will interest its original story not only children but also adults.

kipling little elephant summary for the reader's diary

Hero's Journey

The most interesting part of the tale is, of course, the journey of a curious little elephant to the Limpopo River. He thoroughly prepared for this journey, gathered supplies and, confident in his innocence, set off on his journey. Kipling described his trip in some detail. “Little Elephant” (a short summary for the reader’s diary of this fairy tale should include a retelling of the hero’s misadventures on the river) is a fairy tale that, with the apparent simplicity of the plot, has a deep philosophical meaning, since in it the author explains to children a little fantastic principles of the animal world. In the center of the narrative are events on the river, which for convenience can be divided into several stages.

summary of the tale of a little elephant kipling

Conversation with Python

A summary of Kipling’s “Baby Elephant” tale should include a detailed retelling of the events that occurred on the riverbank. The first thing that happened to him was a meeting with a two-color python, to whom he asked the same question about what the crocodile eats for lunch, and in response received a good tail punch. However, he, nevertheless, helped the python to wrap itself around the trunk again, for which he subsequently helped him avoid death from a crocodile.

summary of the story of a baby elephant kipling

Conversation with a crocodile

A brief summary of Kipling’s story “Elephant” must be continued with a description of his main misadventure, which explains the fact that the elephants have large long noses. When the hero approached the river, he accidentally stumbled upon some solid object, which at first mistook for a log, but it turned out that it was a crocodile. The writer emphasizes that until now the elephant calf has never seen these terrible predators and had no idea how they look. Therefore, he did not recognize him. However, the crocodile immediately introduced himself and expressed his readiness to answer the hero to his strange question, for which he asked to approach him. When the baby complied with this instruction, the predator grabbed him by the nose and pulled him over. However, the elephant calf began to rest and pulled in the opposite direction, which made his nose stretch out. But he owed his final salvation to the two-color python, who arrived in time to help him, and both together pulled out his nose, which, however, had already turned into a real trunk.

Rudyard Kipling Baby Elephant Summary

Denouement

One of the most famous writers of his and our time is Rudyard Kipling. "Little Elephant" (a brief summary of the tale must be completed with a description of the changes that occurred in the fate of the hero after his nose was greatly extended) - this is a work that, despite its small volume, occupies a prominent place in the writer's work. The final part of the work is the hero’s conversation with the python, who claims that he now has some advantage over other animals. The baby elephant agrees with him, goes on the return trip. Indeed, on the way home he discovers that he can now pick bananas and other fruits from the trees, tear the grass, and not crawl on his knees as he did before, make a canopy of mud, and also sing, so that his voice sounds louder than a copper pipe thanks to the trunk. But, most importantly, from now on he was able to repulse those who beat him before for his immoderate curiosity. Returning to his relatives, he immediately showed his new possibilities: he hit with his trunk so that they flew away into the distance.

kipling tales

The final

Kipling, whose tales are popular all over the world, has created a unique world where amazing stories take place that combine the truth with original fiction. At the end of the story, the elephant calf beat all his relatives for having beaten him before. When asked about his nose, he stated that he had received it from a crocodile on the Limpopo River. The only animal that the hero did not touch was the Kolo-Kolo bird; he must have done just that, because she advised him to go ashore and get an answer to his own question. In the end, all the other elephants also wanted to have the same noses and together went to the bank of the river. When they returned, all the fights immediately stopped. The author finishes his narrative with such a moralizing remark.

So, in conclusion, it should be noted that the fairy tale "Little Elephant" resembles other works by Kipling, who knew how to create a unique fairy tale world of wildlife, explaining the phenomena occurring in it in a very simple and accessible form.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/F19718/


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