When he wanted fruit to eat he pulled fruit down from a tree , instead of waiting for it to fall as he used to do . When he wanted grass he plucked grass up from the ground , instead of going on his knees as he used to do . When the flies bit him he broke off the branch of a tree and used it as fly-whisk ; and he made himself a new , cool , slushy-squshy mud-cap whenever the sun was hot . When he felt lonely walking through Africa he sang to himself down his trunk , and the noise was louder than several brass bands . He went especially out of his way to find a broad Hippopotamus -LRB- she was no relation of his -RRB- , and he spanked her very hard , to make sure that the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake had spoken the truth about his new trunk . The rest of the time he picked up the melon rinds that he had dropped on his way to the Limpopo -- for he was a Tidy Pachyderm . One dark evening he came back to all his dear families , and he coiled up his trunk and said , ` How do you do ? ' They were very glad to see him , and immediately said , ` Come here and be spanked for your ` satiable curtiosity . ' ` Pooh , ' said the Elephant 's Child . ' I do n't think you peoples know anything about spanking ; but I do , and I 'll show you . ' Then he uncurled his trunk and knocked two of his dear brothers head over heels . ' O Bananas ! ' said they , ` where did you learn that trick , and what have you done to your nose ? ' ' I got a new one from the Crocodile on the banks of the great grey-green , greasy Limpopo River , ' said the Elephant 's Child . ' I asked him what he had for dinner , and he gave me this to keep . ' ` It looks very ugly , ' said his hairy uncle , the Baboon . ` It does , ' said the Elephant 's Child . ` But it 's very useful , ' and he picked up his hairy uncle , the Baboon , by one hairy leg , and hove him into a hornet 's nest . Then that bad Elephant 's Child spanked all his dear families for a long time , till they were very warm and greatly astonished . He pulled out his tall Ostrich aunt 's tail-feathers ; and he caught his tall uncle , the Giraffe , by the hind-leg , and dragged him through a thorn-bush ; and he shouted at his broad aunt , the Hippopotamus , and blew bubbles into her ear when she was sleeping in the water after meals ; but he never let any one touch Kolokolo Bird .
At last things grew so exciting that his dear families went off one by one in a hurry to the banks of the great XXXXX , greasy Limpopo River , all set about with fever-trees , to borrow new noses from the Crocodile .
Africa Baboon Crocodile Giraffe Kolokolo Ostrich River curtiosity grey-green hornet