Golu Grows a Nose has been written by Rudyard Kipling.
Summary
It was a time when the elephant had no trunk. Golu was a baby elephant. He had only a bulgy nose. He ‘could only move it from side to side. But he couldn’t pick up things with it.
He was full of questions. He asked his aunt, the ostrich why she didn’t ever fly like other birds. He asked his tall uncle, the giraffe why his skin has spots. He asked the hippopotamus why his eyes were always red. Finally, he asked the monkey why melons tasted like melons.
One day Golu asked the mynah bird what the crocodiles always had for dinner. The bird directed him to the Limpopo river to find out. Taking a lot of sugarcanes, bananas and melons, he went to the great river. He met a python, and put his question and got no reply.
Golu moved on the river bank when he saw a log of wood. It was really the cunning crocodile. Golu put his question to him. He told that he would give the reply in his ear. It caught Golu by the nose, and told that today he would eat the elephant. It started dragging him hard into the stream.
Golu cried for help. The python came and coiled fast round Golu’s stomach. Both pulled very hard. At each pull Golu’s nose grew longer and longer. He was free at last.
In two days his nose grew cool but it did not shrink. Instead, it turned into a trunk. However, it proved to be very advantageous. Golu first hit a stinging fly dead with his trunk. Then he plucked the grass and put it into his mouth. The trunk enabled him to dig up some mud and throw it on his head. He thanked the python for its help.