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BRONX ZOO
4. the elephant is so slow
"hadie, hadie ho, the great big elephant is so slow, she swings her trunk from side to side, as she takes the children for a ride, hadie, hadie hoe, the elephant is so slow," i was riding on the back of the poor old elephant at taronga park zoo, she had been made into a childless mother, her calves sold off to other zoos, as a girl i had been taught to sing that song in school, but i didn't want to ride her and was frightened as she paced her endless circle, the zoo worker gathering children, and placing them into a brightly painted wooden float behind her ears, she spent her long life dragging her chains, this feeling of tremendous anguish consumed me, it was bigger than my life had been, alot of the kids were crying when the ride had finished, the adults saying, "never mind, did she frighten you did she?" |
