Читать книгу Stories about elephant calf Lanchenkar - Ayusha Erdyneev - Страница 6

Lanchenkar had a friend Lanchenak, an ordinary grey baby elephant. Lanchenak was fond of riddles. The two made a bargain: if one of them could not solve the riddle he should give a bunch of bananas to the other.

***

“Where do elephants hide?” Lanchenak asked his friend.

“In the jungle! Beyond high mountains!” ventured Lanchenkar but was wrong.

“Okay, I don’t know. Where?”

“Give me a bunch of bananas, as agreed, and I’ll tell you.”

“Here it is.”

“Elephants hide in apples,” answered Lanchenak laughing.

“Why haven’t I ever found them there?” wondered Lanchenkar.

“This calls for another bunch,” was the reply. With the bananas in his possession, Lanchenak went on: “You can’t see them; they hide well!”

***

“What’s in the middle of an apple?” Lanchenak asked a new question.

“Seeds! Pulp! The elephants’ hiding place!” Lanchenkar said at a venture.

“Wrong! Do you give up?”

“Yes.”

“The letter P is in the middle of apple,” replied the implacable Lanchenak.

***

Lanchenak offered riddles to woodsfolk every day, collecting sweet tribute and coming home with loads of bananas.

The animals were angry and Lanchenkar decided to teach him a lesson.

He met Lanchenak loaded with new bunches of bananas and said:

“I know a riddle. No one has guessed it so far.”

“Let me try,” said Lanchenak, all agog.

“It’s a special riddle, I can’t tell it to everybody,” announced Lanchenkar with an air of importance.

“Come on, tell me. If I fail, I’ll give you one bunch of bananas or even two!”

“You don’t understand. It’s really a puzzling riddle.”

“I’ll give you all bananas,” persisted Lanchenak.

“Very well. Listen: ‘A trunk at the front, a trunk at the end and ears in between.’”

Lanchenak was thinking hard and long but could not guess. He gave his bananas to Lanchenkar and said:

“It’s a difficult riddle. I don’t know the answer, I give up. You tell me: who?”

“Take one bunch of bananas – I don’t know the answer either. As I told you, no one does,” Lanchenkar replied.