The Dirty Breakfast: Finding Food For The Elephants [SHORT STORY]

It was a cold, misty morning when Mamothy, the elephant, set out with her brood. It was time for breakfast. With winters setting in, it had become increasingly tough to find food. This year the winter had been very harsh. The grass had turned brown, and there were no leaves left on the bushes or the trees.

Mamothy was the oldest elephant in the herd. So the herd asked her to find food for everybody. Mamothy decided to take the herd close to the village where human beings lived. She had seen cows grazing there. The farms had some bushes and the grass still looked green.

When Mamothy and her herd reached the village, they were in for a surprise.

“Look Mamothy! There are so many flowers in this field!” cried the baby elephants. Mamothy looked carefully. The grass that had looked so green from the distance was covered with something strange. The ‘flowers’ were small, coloured and slippery, and tasted funny. The same stuff was strewn on the bushes as well.

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“These are not flowers. Let me find out what they are before we all eat them.” Mamothy told everyone. She saw a herd of cows grazing some distance away and went to them.

“Excuse me. Can you please tell us what these coloured things are? Are they safe to eat?” Mamothy asked.

“Oh no! Do not eat these! The villagers call them polythene bags. They throw polythene bags into a rubbish pit at the edge of the village. But the wind spreads them all around these fields. They are not like leaves or grass. Animals can choke when they eat them. We are all very careful not to eat these.” replied the cow.

“How terrible! Thank you for telling us.” Mamothy went back to her herd and told everyone about the polythene bags. After that, the elephants were careful not to eat them.

Once they had all eaten Mamothy said, “Tomorrow we shall all go to the forest on the other side of the hill and look for shrubs there. It is not safe to look for food around the village where the humans live.” All the elephants heartily agreed. The herd never set foot near the village again.

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