A Couch On An Elephant's Back

by Carly

        I lightly stepped onto the wobbly couch that was strapped onto the elephant’s back. I couldn’t believe I was finally riding my dream. I almost jumped off I was so happy. My dad sat down with a grimace on his face, feeling unsure about the strength of the couch. Then Adele, the youngest of the French granddaughters of Bob and Elizabeth who was visiting with her two older sisters, Emma and Zoe, slid in beside us. 

The elephant jolted, then started to lumber down the road.  My dad snapped his eyes shut. I could tell by her scrunched up face that Adele was having a hard time resisting the urge to shut her eyes too. We waggled to a temple and the driver stopped the elephant so we could take pictures. 

After everyone else caught up and were all about to start moving again, we heard a sound like someone had cranked up a hose and started watering the ground. The funny thing is, that basically is what it was except for the fact that this “hose” was filled with elephant pee. We all cracked up.

The hose

          Our elephants started to walk again back toward our starting point. They stopped several times to have a snack of leaves and branches. The drivers poked them in the head with a spike to make them get going. The spike was pretty thick on the pointy end, so it didn’t  hurt them, but it was enough to get their attention. We rode back over to the platform that was high enough for us to step off the giant elephant. We walked down the stairs on the platform and stepped back onto the ground. My dad looked relieved. We all clambered back into the bus. We were off to see another temple.       

The driver is holding the spike

Feeding the elephant pineapples