By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
Africa’s Talking Drum: Why The Elephant Walks Slowly
Long before the animals learned to respect the wisdom of age, there was a time when Elephant was the fastest creature in the forest.
Nobody believed it when the old tortoise told the story, but Tortoise always insisted that it was true.
“Ask Elephant himself,” he would say. “If he is not ashamed to tell you.”
In those days, Elephant was young, strong and terribly proud of his long legs.
Every morning, he would come to the clearing where the animals gathered and boast about his strength.
“Look at these legs,” he would say, stamping the earth until dust rose around him. “Who among you can outrun me?”
Hare would laugh.
“Outrun you? I can run around you three times before you finish turning.”
Elephant would shake his head. “You?”
“Yes, me.”
“You are only a bundle of ears and bones.”
“And you are only a mountain with legs,” Hare would reply.
The animals would burst into laughter.
Elephant did not like being laughed at.
One morning, he became angry.
“Let us settle this today,” he said. “We shall have a race from this clearing to the old iroko tree by the river.”
Hare agreed immediately.
Monkey wanted to join. Deer joined. Antelope joined. Even Tortoise raised his head.
“You?” Elephant asked.
Tortoise smiled.
“Why are you surprised?”
“Because the race will finish before you reach the starting point.”
The animals laughed again, but Tortoise did not argue.
“Let us see,” he said.
The race began at sunrise.
At the sound of Monkey’s cry, Elephant thundered forward. The ground shook beneath his feet.
Hare flew past him almost immediately.
“Come on, mountain!” Hare shouted over his shoulder.
Elephant became furious.
He ran harder. Branches snapped as he pushed through the forest. Birds flew from the trees. Small animals scattered into their holes.
But the harder Elephant ran, the more careless he became.
He did not see the slippery ground ahead.
His front foot landed on wet clay.
“Ah!”
He fell heavily.
The forest shook.
Hare stopped and looked back.
“Are you hurt?”
Elephant struggled to stand.
“No.”
“Then why are you lying there?”
“I am resting.”
Hare laughed and continued running.
By the time Elephant reached the river, the other animals were already waiting beneath the old iroko tree. Tortoise arrived last.
Nobody expected him to say anything, but he looked at Elephant and asked quietly, “How did the race go?”
Elephant was embarrassed.
“I could have won.”
Tortoise nodded.
“Of course.”
Elephant stared at him.
“You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you could have won if you had remembered that speed is not the same as wisdom.”
Elephant said nothing.
Then Tortoise pointed toward the river.
“Look.”
Elephant looked.
The river had risen during the night. Its current was strong, and the animals had stopped because nobody could cross safely.
Hare shook his head.
“We cannot cross.”
Elephant looked at the river and smiled.
“This is why you should never laugh at my size.”
He stepped into the water.
The current pushed against him, but Elephant stood firm. One by one, the smaller animals followed him. He crossed slowly, placing each foot carefully on the riverbed.
When they reached the other side, Hare looked at him.
“You could have crossed faster.”
Elephant smiled.
“I have learned something today.”
“What?”
“That not every journey should be a race.”
Tortoise nodded.
“That is the first wise thing I have heard you say.”
Elephant laughed.
From that day, Elephant stopped racing everyone.
He still had strength. He still had long legs. He could still move faster than many animals when he wanted to. But he learned to walk with care.
Whenever the younger animals mocked him for moving slowly, he would simply say, “I have no quarrel with time.”
And Tortoise would add, “A person who is always rushing may arrive first and still discover that he has arrived at the wrong place.”
That is why, according to the old story, Elephant walks slowly today.
Not because his legs cannot carry him faster.
Not because he is weak.
But because somewhere in the distant past, the strongest animal in the forest learned what many people take a lifetime to understand: there is wisdom in knowing when to slow down.
Moral:
Strength does not always need to announce itself. Sometimes, the strongest person in the room is the one who knows when to stop, listen and take the next step carefully.
Personal Thoughts:
Some journeys are not meant to be races. What matters is not always who arrives first, but who arrives with wisdom, dignity and enough sense to know where they are going.
About The Author
Leave a comment