A Moment of Solitary Fun

She was looking for a place of rest when tiredness swept over her and exhaustion overwhelmed her. She revealed her thoughts to the herd, by way of trumpeting song, letting them know she wanted a moment of aloneness. Seeing this the huge group moved slowly away.

Now only the one calf lingered. She knelt down in the rippling waters, rolled to one side of her small being, and then swinging her trunk got up again. She then pried loose a few chunks of the earth, threw some of them over her back and swallowed the others. Standing at the very edge of a small flat ledge that projected into the river, she abruptly began to step so forcefully into the waves with her left forefoot that massive sheets of water spattered against her belly and over her small body. To keep the waves agitated, she repeated this over and over again, constantly shifting positions to use a different leg each time. With her hind legs, she sent curtains of water splashing around her. In between, she stirred the mud with wide, circular swings of her miniature trunk. Then she graciously slid into the water again to wallow in another full bath.

Back near the shore, she whipped up a fresh little storm around her tiny legs. In all, she enjoyed moments of solitary fun.