Kipling and his child's heart

This year marks just one century since one of the masters of XNUMXth century narrative, Rudyard Kipling, received the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1907). 

Given the tremendous popularity of The Jungle Book –Perhaps one of the best-known stories in cinema thanks to the Walt Disney adaptation–, and Kim, the rest of Kipling's work is relegated to the general public's oblivion. A pity since the vast majority of the fables of the

The first Englishman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature stands out, not only for its beauty, but for its doctrinal quality, which makes it an excellent choice for children's first approach to the world of literature.

 Today I want to recommend The Little Elephant. It is a delicious fable that perfectly embodies the curiosity of the little ones, who ask whether to pause, hungry for curiosity. Kipling, an especially original and creative author, relies on the innocent plot of wanting to explain how elephants got their long and useful trunk, which before they had small and shrunken. The story already begins by awakening the curiosity of the little reader, who will feel enthusiastic about the need to know the causes of such a metamorphosis. And it is that curiosity is the healthiest of the needs to satisfy in childhood, and also one of the most complex.  

Insatiable is also the curiosity of the little elephant protagonist of the story, who wants to know what the crocodiles ate, and every time he asks, his relatives - a display of jungle fauna - give him a spanking, to which he is already used to and He accepts it "a little hot but not at all stunned." On the recommendation of the Kolokolo bird, the tremendously educated pachyderm travels to where the crocodiles live to ask them directly what they eat. After the trip and in the presence of a bicolor python, he meets the crocodile in the Limpopo River, and it grabs him by the trunk. The little elephant, who manages to escape with the help of the reptile, is very sad with the new appearance of his trunk, so he soaks it for a couple of days to shrink it. By seeing that he doesn't, the snake helps him see the benefits of his new look: he will be able to eat without stooping or waiting for the fruit to fall from the trees and he will also be able to give a spanking before it is given to him!

 “–What would you think of if they gave you a new spanking? - said the snake.
"Excuse me," said the little elephant, "but I wouldn't like that at all."
"How would you like to spank someone?" - said the snake.
"I'd like that very much, actually," said the little elephant.
–Well, you will see that your new nose will be very useful to whip others with it– ”.

When he arrives, his relatives tell him that his trunk is ugly, and he agrees with them, but warns them that it is also very useful and proves it by giving each one what they deserve. Finally all the elephants go to see the crocodiles in the lake and acquire the shape they show today, the same shape that the little elephant got and no one ever hit another animal.

The richness of the story, in addition to the tenderness and sensitivity with which it is narrated, resides in the flashes of humor that it entails for the adult. The simple repetition of some expressions and complete phrases, habitual and necessary for the total understanding of the story by the child, make up an element of singular sympathy that dazzles the developed reader. Kipling pursues a catharsis "on a child scale" that keeps the child in suspense, because after being whipped, being in danger from the crocodile's teeth and feeling sad to see his elongated trunk, he finally enjoys his new instrument, he feels special and everyone they respect. The greatness of Kipling is also perceived by the total absence of complications in the argument, of empty explanations in favor of the concretion and clarity of the meaning of each and every one of his sentences.

The Little Elephant is a story, very close to its famous Jungle Book,  which could be part of the eastern oral tradition. In this idea beats another of the peculiarities of the British writer, his independence from the literary movements of the time, as well as his originality and his ability to turn a simple idea into a wonderful story.

If you have children, let them meet this brave, educated and, above all, very very curious elephant.