Question
The Elephant’s Child
by Rudyard Kipling
This passage tells a fable about how present-day elephants came to have long noses. A curious young elephant wants to ask a crocodile a question, but ends up being tricked.
As you read, pay attention to who is telling the story.
Before the Elephant had a trunk, he had only a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side; but he couldn’t pick up things with it. But there was one Elephant—an Elephant’s Child—who was full of insatiable curtiosity, and that means he asked ever so many questions.
One fine morning this insatiable Elephant’s Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. He asked, ‘What does the Crocodile have for dinner?’ Then everybody said, ‘Hush!’ in a loud and dreadful tone.
By and by, when that was finished, he came upon Kolokolo Bird, and he said, “Everyone complains about my insatiable curtiosity, but still I want to know what the Crocodile has for dinner!’
Then Kolokolo Bird said, with a mournful cry, ‘Go to the banks of the Limpopo River and find out.’
That very next morning, this insatiable Elephant’s Child said to all his dear families, ‘Goodbye. I am going to the Limpopo River to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.’
He traveled till at last he came to the banks of Limpopo River, precisely as Kolokolo Bird had said. Now you must know and understand, this insatiable Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. So he went on till he trod on what he thought was a log of wood at the very edge of the river.
But it was really the Crocodile, and the Crocodile winked one eye!
‘’Scuse me,’ said the Elephant’s Child most politely, ‘but do you happen to have seen a Crocodile around here?’
‘Come here, Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘for I am the Crocodile,’ and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true.
Then the Elephant’s Child grew all breathless, and kneeled down on the bank and said, ‘You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?’
‘Come here Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’
The Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the Crocodile’s musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his nose, which up to that very moment, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful.
‘I think,’ said the Crocodile—and he said it between his teeth, like this—‘I think today I will begin with Elephant’s Child!’
At this the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, ‘Leddd go! You are hurtinggg me!’
The Elephant’s Child sat back on his little haunches, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose began to stretch. And the Crocodile floundered into the water with great sweeps of his tail, and he pulled, and pulled.
And the Elephant’s Child’s nose kept on stretching; as he spread all his little four legs and pulled, and pulled, and the Crocodile threshed his tail like an oar, and he pulled, and pulled, and at each pull the Elephant’s Child’s nose grew longer.
___
Adapted from The Elephant’s Child, by Rudyard Kipling, Public domain.
Questions
Which of the following sentences least indicates to the reader that the narrator is omniscient?
“Now you must know and understand, this insatiable Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like.”
“But it was really the Crocodile, and the Crocodile winked one eye!”
“‘Come here Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’”
“At this the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, ‘Leddd go! You are hurtinggg me!’”
by Rudyard Kipling
This passage tells a fable about how present-day elephants came to have long noses. A curious young elephant wants to ask a crocodile a question, but ends up being tricked.
As you read, pay attention to who is telling the story.
Before the Elephant had a trunk, he had only a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side; but he couldn’t pick up things with it. But there was one Elephant—an Elephant’s Child—who was full of insatiable curtiosity, and that means he asked ever so many questions.
One fine morning this insatiable Elephant’s Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. He asked, ‘What does the Crocodile have for dinner?’ Then everybody said, ‘Hush!’ in a loud and dreadful tone.
By and by, when that was finished, he came upon Kolokolo Bird, and he said, “Everyone complains about my insatiable curtiosity, but still I want to know what the Crocodile has for dinner!’
Then Kolokolo Bird said, with a mournful cry, ‘Go to the banks of the Limpopo River and find out.’
That very next morning, this insatiable Elephant’s Child said to all his dear families, ‘Goodbye. I am going to the Limpopo River to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.’
He traveled till at last he came to the banks of Limpopo River, precisely as Kolokolo Bird had said. Now you must know and understand, this insatiable Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. So he went on till he trod on what he thought was a log of wood at the very edge of the river.
But it was really the Crocodile, and the Crocodile winked one eye!
‘’Scuse me,’ said the Elephant’s Child most politely, ‘but do you happen to have seen a Crocodile around here?’
‘Come here, Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘for I am the Crocodile,’ and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true.
Then the Elephant’s Child grew all breathless, and kneeled down on the bank and said, ‘You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?’
‘Come here Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’
The Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the Crocodile’s musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his nose, which up to that very moment, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful.
‘I think,’ said the Crocodile—and he said it between his teeth, like this—‘I think today I will begin with Elephant’s Child!’
At this the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, ‘Leddd go! You are hurtinggg me!’
The Elephant’s Child sat back on his little haunches, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose began to stretch. And the Crocodile floundered into the water with great sweeps of his tail, and he pulled, and pulled.
And the Elephant’s Child’s nose kept on stretching; as he spread all his little four legs and pulled, and pulled, and the Crocodile threshed his tail like an oar, and he pulled, and pulled, and at each pull the Elephant’s Child’s nose grew longer.
___
Adapted from The Elephant’s Child, by Rudyard Kipling, Public domain.
Questions
Which of the following sentences least indicates to the reader that the narrator is omniscient?
“Now you must know and understand, this insatiable Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like.”
“But it was really the Crocodile, and the Crocodile winked one eye!”
“‘Come here Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’”
“At this the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, ‘Leddd go! You are hurtinggg me!’”
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The sentence that least indicates to the reader that the narrator is omniscient is:
**“‘Come here Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’”**
This sentence focuses on the dialogue between the Crocodile and the Elephant’s Child without providing any insights into the thoughts or feelings of the characters. The other sentences offer information about the Elephant's Child's experiences and internal state, revealing details that the characters themselves wouldn't know, which demonstrates the omniscient perspective of the narrator.
**“‘Come here Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’”**
This sentence focuses on the dialogue between the Crocodile and the Elephant’s Child without providing any insights into the thoughts or feelings of the characters. The other sentences offer information about the Elephant's Child's experiences and internal state, revealing details that the characters themselves wouldn't know, which demonstrates the omniscient perspective of the narrator.