Elephant

Elephants have always been my favorite zoo animals. Lions are cool, and it’s fun to watch penguins waddle and monkeys swing around. But there’s just something about elephants. It’s hypnotic the way they sway from side to side. I love their wrinkly, bumpy grey skin. Their shoulders roll when they walk; something you probably wouldn’t notice unless you’ve ridden an elephant. It gives you the alarming impression that you’re about to be pitched forward over the elephant’s head. I’m not the only person who adores elephants, because there’s a special day set aside for them. This is Elephant Appreciation Day. I can’t visit a zoo today, and I don’t feel like donating to SaveTheElephants.org. I made an elephant quilt block instead. If you’re a seven-year-old (or you know one) you could always tell an elephant joke: How can you tell there’s an elephant in the bathtub with you? By the smell of peanuts on his breath.