Elephant and Rhino fought fiercely, and Elephant won.
“I will go far away,” said Rhino, and he went to live in a different forest.
Later on, Elephant’s child got lost. When she saw Rhino’s dung on the ground, it looked like her mother’s dung, so she followed the trail to the other forest.
When Elephant finally found her child, she was furious. Once again she fought Rhino and defeated him.
“Listen to me, Rhino!” she shouted. “From now on you must scatter your dung so you won’t mislead my children ever again.”
That is why Rhino always scatters his dung.
[a Chok story from Kenya]
Inspired by: "The Elephant and the Rhinoceros" in The Suk: Their Language and Folklore by Mervyn W. H. Beech, 1911.
Notes: You can read the original story online. You can read about why rhinos scatter their dung here: So, what's the poop on rhinos?
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