Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends

Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends

Once upon a time, in a green land threaded with paths through tall grass, palms, and dense thickets, Elephant and Bush Cow lived near each other.

Both were strong. Both knew it well. And that is why it was difficult for them to give way even half a step.

Elephant liked to go out onto the wide road to the bazaar, raise his trunk and trumpet loudly:

“When I walk, the branches part! When I step, the earth hears my steps! Who in the forest is stronger than me?”

The animals usually smiled and hurried about their business. Everyone knew how much Elephant loved to boast.

And Bush Cow heard these words every time and got angry.

“As though strength were only a matter of size!” she muttered. “I’m strong too. And fast. And brave.”

One day Elephant began to boast again at the watering place.

“If a branch falls in front of me, I’ll push it away with my trunk! If a log blocks the path, I’ll move it out of the way!”

Bush Cow couldn’t stand it.

“And if I’m standing on the path?”

Elephant turned his great ears towards her in surprise.

“You?”

“Me. Let’s see who can make whom back down.”

“Agreed!” Elephant rumbled.

The animals around became worried.

“Don’t quarrel,” said Antelope. “The road is for everyone.”

“Being strong doesn’t mean pushing everyone around,” old Turtle added.

But Elephant and Bush Cow were no longer listening. Each was determined to prove a point.

They decided to visit the Elder, whom everyone nearby respected for his calm judgement.

The Elder listened to both of them and shook his head.

“So you want to find out who is stronger?”

“Yes!” they answered together.

“And why?”

Elephant thought about it.

So did Bush Cow.

“Well… so everyone will know,” Elephant said at last.

“What exactly would they know?”

“Who is stronger,” Bush Cow repeated, less confidently now.

The Elder sighed.

“If you are so eager to test your strength, come tomorrow to the large clearing behind the market. You will not disturb anyone there. But remember: do not break trees, do not spoil the gardens and do not scare passers-by.”

“Agreed,” said Elephant.

“Agreed,” said Bush Cow.

Bush Cow woke very early the next morning. So eager was she to reach the clearing that she decided to wait on the main road instead of at the place the Elder had chosen.

She planted herself in the middle of the path, swept aside dry leaves with her horns, and bellowed:

“Where is that Great Big Giant? Let him come!”

A small Antelope walked by with a basket of fruit.

“Have you seen Elephant?” Bush Cow asked.

“No,” Antelope replied. “And I’d like to get to the market.”

Bush Cow moved only after a long sigh.

Then two women with baskets, several children, and an old man with a bundle of firewood passed by. Everyone had to go around the Cow’s “arena” on the grass.

Finally, from afar, a voice came:

“Prrroooo!”

Elephant was walking along the road. He was also determined to show himself. He saw Bush Cow in the middle of the path and stopped.

“The clearing is farther along,” he said.

“Are you scared?” she teased.

“Me? Afraid?”

Elephant stamped his foot.

Bush Cow pawed the ground with her hoof.

Elephant took a step forward.

So did Bush Cow.

Another step.

And another.

They stood facing each other so close that Elephant could hear the Cow’s angry snort, and she could feel the warm breath of his trunk.

“Move aside,” said Elephant.

“Move aside yourself.”

“I came to this part of the road first.”

“And I was waiting here earlier!”

They lunged forwards together, each trying to force the other back rather than cause pain. But their strength sent dry leaves flying, overturned someone’s empty basket, and bent young plants beside the road to the ground.

The passers-by stopped far behind.

“We’ll never reach the market with them in the way!” people said anxiously.

Monkey watched all this from a tree.

“I must tell the Elder,” she decided.

Monkey ran through the branches. But on the way she saw a ripe fruit.

“Just one piece,” she thought.

She ate a piece.

Then another.

She spotted a shiny pebble and turned it over in her paws. Then she found a long stick and tried balancing it on her nose. Next she saw a butterfly and leaped after it.

And when she finally reached the Elder, she forgot why she had come running.

“Good morning, Monkey,” he said. “Has something happened?”

“Of course something has happened!” she cried. “Only… what was it?”

The Elder treated her to a piece of plantain and was about to get back to business when he said:

“How strange that Elephant and Bush Cow haven’t reached the clearing yet.”

Monkey froze with full cheeks.

“Elephant! Cow! Road!” she rattled out. “They’re arguing right on the road to the market! Nobody can get past!”

The Elder immediately set off there.

By the time he arrived, Elephant and Bush Cow were exhausted. Both stood in the dust, breathing hard, but neither would take the first step back.

“Enough,” the Elder said calmly.

No one moved.

“I said, enough.”

This time Elephant lowered his trunk, and Bush Cow stopped digging the ground with her hoof.

The Elder gestured along the road.

“You wanted to show which of you was stronger. All you have shown is that two stubborn creatures can block the way for an entire village.”

Elephant looked back and saw people with baskets.

Bush Cow noticed the bent plants and the overturned basket.

“But who won?” she asked quietly.

“Can’t you see?” the Elder replied. “Everyone lost today. You wasted your strength, people lost their time, plants were damaged, and the market opened with half its customers missing.”

Elephant lowered his ears.

Bush Cow looked away.

“What should we do now?” Elephant asked.

“What strong people do when they make a mistake: put things right.”

Elephant lifted the fallen basket with his trunk and cleared broken branches from the road. Bush Cow stamped the churned-up earth flat and opened the path. Together, they straightened the young plants, then let all the waiting people pass.

“You go first,” Elephant said.

“We’ll wait,” Bush Cow added.

When the road was empty, they looked at each other again.

“I still think I am very strong,” said Elephant.

“And I still think you talk too much about it,” replied Bush Cow.

“And I think you get angry too easily.”

“And you trumpet too loudly.”

They argued a little more, but they stopped pushing each other.

From then on, Elephant and Bush Cow never became great friends. When one went to the watering hole, the other often chose a different path. When they met in the forest, both looked at each other warily.

But they remembered the Elder’s words: strength is not for forcing others to give way. Sometimes the hardest thing is to take a step aside yourself and leave room for everyone.

And since then, when Monkey ran with important news, she repeated it aloud the whole way:

“Elephant, Cow, road! Elephant, Cow, road!”

Even the most useful errand can be forgotten if every ripe fruit along the way distracts you.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨