The Mouse and the Elephant

FOLKLORE FROM EAST AFRICA
A long time ago, there lived a family of mice. The family lived happily in a savannah. The life in the savannah was dangerous. Grandpa Mouse always told his family to be careful.

“Remember, there are other animals in this savannah. We're not the only animals here,“ advised the Grandpa Mouse.
The Young Mouse ignored his grandfather's advice. He always thought that he was very strong.
“I'm the strongest animal in this savannah!“ said the Young Mouse.
His grandfather was smiling. He said, “No, you're not. You haven't seen the elephants yet.They are the strongest animals here.“
The Young Mouse looked confused. He looked at his grandfather closely and asked, “Elephant?

What is an elephant?“ Well, the Young Mouse had never left his house therefore he had never seen other animals except his family.
At night, the Young Mouse kept on thinking about what his grandfather said. He was so curious to see the elephants. He wanted to see how big they were. So, early in the morning, the Young Mouse left his house and looked for the elephants.He wanted to challenge them to prove which animal was the strongest! He wanted to challenge an elephant to fight! The sky was dark when the Young Mouse left his house. The storm was coming. The sound of thunder was deafening. However, the Young Mouse had made up his mind to look for the elephants. The storm could not stop him! T h e Young Mouse met a lizard.He never saw the lizard b e fore. He asked, “Are you the elephant?“ “No, I'm not. I'm the lizard,“ said the lizard.

“You're lucky. If you're the elephant, I already kill you!“ Right after the Young Mouse finished his sentence, thunder came. The light was so scary. The lizard was so frightened that he was hiding. The Young Mouse thought that the lizard was afraid of him.
“Ha ha ha ... the lizard was afraid of me. Yes! I'm the strongest animal here!“ Later, the Young Mouse met a zebra. He asked, “Are you the elephant?“ The Zebra said, “No, I'm not. I'm a zebra.“

“It's your lucky day! If you are the elephant, I will hit you!“ said the Young Mouse. Again, thunder attacked and the zebra was so scared. The zebra immediately ran to hide from the thunder.“Ha ha ha ... All the animals are afraid of me!“ he said arrogantly.

Later, the Young Mouse saw a giant animal with two tails, one in the front and one in the back.This giant animal was drinking some water in a small pond.

“A strange animal,“ he thought. Then he asked, “Are you the elephant?“ “Yes, I'm!“ said the elephant calmly.
“I've been looking for you to challenge you to fight. Let's prove which one of us is the strongest animal,“ said the Young Mouse. The elephant filled his trunk with water and sprayed it to the mouse! Well, the spray made the young mouse washed away.

Again, the thunder came and that made the elephant scared. He ran to a safe place. He did not want the thunder to strike him.
“Hey, Elephant! Where are you going! Are you afraid of me?“ yelled the Young Mouse when he saw the elephant running away.
Later, he went home. The Young Mouse told his grand father that the elephant was afraid of him. At first, his grandfather did not believe him. The Young Mouse was finally able to convince him that the elephant was afraid of him.

Later, Grandpa Mouse told other animals that the elephant was afraid of his grandson.
News spread and until now it is believed that the elephants are afraid of the mice. Media Indonesia, 31/08/2014, hal 20