Read Online Elephant Talks to God by Dale Estey - Free Book Online

against him, his support was as firm as it was tender.
    Step. Pause. Step. Pause. Step. Pause.
    The last flutter of haste had ceased, and the hesitation of the old animal now filled the jungle.
    The elephant stood patiently, as if he were a rooted tree, counterbalancing the support of the elephant on the other side. There would be little distance to cover now, and soon the dying beast would just stop and that would be the time to ease the body onto the ground and wait until all breathing ended.
    â€œI know you,” said the old, old elephant.
    â€œYes.” The elephant was both surprised and glad. “You helped my mother when she was ill. You looked after me a long time. You were a nurse to both of us.”
    â€œThat has been my job with many, many calves.” The dying animal continued to take her slow, precise steps. “And I’ve outlived even some of them.” She breathed with difficulty. “As I’ve outlived my own.” She gulped for air. “So very long ago, it now seems.”
    â€œYes,” said the elephant tentatively. He had not been expecting any conversation.
    â€œBut you were different,” she muttered.
    â€œWell — I …” The elephant was gratified that she remembered him from all the others.
    â€œYou were foolish.” The old elephant snorted and made a noise which might have been a cracked laugh. “There was no making sense of you. No keeping up to you. I’d tell your mum that I wondered if she was sick because she couldn’t deal with you.”
    â€œThat can’t be true.” The elephant was peeved. “I never meant for any of —”
    â€œNo. You never meant harm.” The old elephant stopped moving and turned her head. “That’s the way you were even then. You didn’t take the time to let me finish what I was going to tell you.”
    â€œSorry,” said the elephant.
    â€œYes, that’s familiar.” This time she did manage a distinct grunt of laughter. “Your mum and I both laughed at your antics. And also laughed as the rest of the herd shook their heads in dismay.” The old elephant started walking again. “The things you wanted to do and to see — too much for any elephant. Too much for any life. You never knew your place.”
    â€œI never found my place,” corrected the elephant.
    â€œYes. That’s familiar, too.” She tried to laugh again, but it turned into a coughing fit. “You always had to contradict whatever was said to you.”
    â€œIt always seemed to me,” said the elephant stubbornly, “that I was always told just part of the story.”
    â€œMost of us only know part of the story. Most of us are content with that.” She slowly lifted her trunk and rubbed it against the elephant’s ear. “But that was nevergoing to satisfy you — with more questions than there are monkeys in the trees — as you went out searching and pestering.”
    â€œI didn’t mean to be a pest.”
    â€œThe hyena doesn’t mean to sound like an insane fool,” grunted the old elephant. “That doesn’t stop it from waking you out of a peaceful sleep when it’s feeding.”
    â€œYou’re comparing me to a hyena?”
    â€œIf the mudhole is your size then you settle into it without flooding.”
    â€œNow that does sound familiar.” The elephant smiled and cast a quick glance into the sky. “And even more familiar than you might think.”
    â€œYou mean Himself.” The old cow also turned her head toward the clouds but as quickly dropped it again. “Just between us, I think He got a lot of His ideas from me. I’ve been around a long time.”
    â€œDo you … ?” The elephant was very surprised. “I didn’t know that you had conversations with —”
    â€œSoon we’ll be talking face to face.”
    She stumbled slightly, but then, with a