words by Raffaella Delle Donne
A version of this story appears in A. C. Partridge’s (1973) “Folklore of Southern Africa.” Johannesburg: Purnell.
One hot and dry day, Kaggen was lying under the shade of a tree. Just then, the Bush-Bird flew by carrying a string of white beads. “Hello Bush-Bird, you look like you are in a hurry.” Said Kaggen. “I sure am!” Replied the Bush-Bird out of breath. “I am delivering a message for Elephant to his wife, Rain. She has run away to her family in the clouds because she is angry with him. She refuses to return to Elephant so now there is almost no water left in the drinking-hole and we are getting more and more thirsty.” “No wonder it is so hot!” Exclaimed Kaggen. “Why do you not rest for a minute and tell me what Elephant did to make his wife, Rain so angry? Maybe I can help you persuade Rain to return to Elephant?” Suggested Kaggen. “I do not know if that is such a good idea”, said the Bush-Bird nervously, “I really cannot waste anymore time.” “Very well then, but let me come with you to find Rain and, on the way, you can tell me why she is angry with Elephant.” Said Kaggen who would never take no for an answer. By now, Bush-Bird was so impatient to go that she would have agreed to anything. She let out an exasperated sigh, threw up her little wings and said: “I give up, Kaggen, you win! But can we please get a move on?” And with that, the bush-bird flew off, with Kaggen and his belongings hot on her trail.
“I am going to need my wings to keep up with Bush-Bird. She may be small, but she sure is fast!” Exclaimed Kaggen. The shoes were panting as they tried to keep up with Kaggen and could have jumped for joy when they heard Kaggen was going to use his wings. “Hooray!” They cheered as he put the shoes on his feet and slung the bag across his back. “Hold on tight!” He warned. The walking stick jumped into Kaggen’s hand just in time as they flew higher and higher into the sky, until they could see the Bush-Bird just ahead of them. “There you are, Kaggen. I thought you would have given up by now. You really are a determined little mantis”, teased the Bush-Bird. As they flew closer to the clouds in search of the Rain, the Bush-Bird told Kaggen why the rain had run away from her husband the Elephant.
The Elephant and the Rain were happily married until, one day, the Elephant asked the her: “Rain, who do you think is the strongest in the land?” The Rain did not think that it mattered who was the strongest. She said to the Elephant: “I think everyone is strong in their own way.” This was not what the Elephant wanted to hear. In a loud, booming voice he said: “I am the mighty Elephant and I am the strongest in the land.” The Rain was startled by the Elephant’s loud voice but she did not say anything. “Did you not hear me, Rain?” asked the Elephant. “I am the mighty Elephant and I am the strongest in the land”, he said again. This time, even louder. After some time, the Rain said in a soft but clear voice: “You may be strong my husband, but I am Rain. I bring water for all the animals when they are thirsty. I water all the plants and trees so that they can grow.” But still, this was not what the Elephant wanted to hear. The Rain’s words made the Elephant angry. He stamped his foot and flapped his big ears making everything tremble around him. He said again, even louder this time: “I am the mighty Elephant and I am strongest in the land.” The Rain was not afraid of the Elephant. She just smiled and said again: “You may be strong my husband, but I am rain. I bring water for all the animals when they are thirsty. I water all the plants and trees so that they can grow.”
The Elephant grew even angrier when he saw that that the Rain was not afraid of him. He took a deep breath and trumpeted loudly as loudly as he could. Then he wrapped his trunk around the biggest tree he could find and pulled it out of the ground. The Rain looked at the uprooted tree but she did not say anything. The Elephant saw that the Rain was shaking. He said to himself: “Aha! Now she can see for herself how strong I am. I think my wife is beginning to be afraid of me.” The Elephant trumpeted loudly again. This time it was to call all the animals in the land so that he could show them how his strength had silenced his wife and made her tremble in fear. The Rain was quiet and trembling not because she was afraid but because she was angry and deep in thought. The Rain stared at the uprooted tree for a long time, wondering whether she should stab her husband with her tongue of lightning. Meanwhile, the longer she was quiet, the more nervous the Elephant began to get. “Why does she not say anything? Why does she not do anything?” He thought angrily to himself. But the Rain said nothing. She thought and thought. Never taking her eyes off the uprooted tree. Eventually she saw that the tree had started to die and the leaves were drying and falling off. This gave the Rain an idea.
Meanwhile, all the other animals in the land had heard the Elephant’s call and began to make their way to where the Elephant and the Rain were arguing. The Ostrich was the first to arrive. Her long legs made her run very fast! Right behind the Ostrich was the Giraffe. He was in such a hurry to see what all the noise was about that he was stretching his long neck as far as he could. Then along came the Zebra, the Springbok and the Crane. Even the proud Lion and the shy, old Tortoise had come to see what all the fuss was about. Once all the animals had gathered around the Elephant, the Rain spoke to her husband for the first time in a strong voice for all to hear: “Your pride and your boasting will cause you to wither and die of thirst just like the leaves of this great tree which you destroyed. I am leaving you to return to my family in the clouds.” These words scared the Elephant but he was too proud to let the other animals see how afraid he was. And so, he replied: “Go! I do not need you. I will find all the water I need without your help.” As soon as the elephant said those words, the Rain took the rainbow which she always wore around her waist, waived it over the land and disappeared.
The strangest thing then began to happen. As soon as the Rain disappeared, the land became dry and hard. All the animals looked around in horror. They cried out to the Elephant: “What have you done, you proud old fool! You have made Rain angry and she has gone back to her family in the clouds. Now, there is nothing for us to drink. We will all die of thirst because of you!” But the stubborn Elephant would not listen and told all the animals to go home. After a few hours, the Elephant began to feel hungry and went in search of something to eat. He found a big tree and began to chew the bark. To his horror, the bark was not sweet and sticky as it usually was. Instead, the bark was dry and hard. “Phew!” said the Elephant and spat out the dry bark in disgust. He then went to the swamp in search of food but when he got there he found that the swamp was not sticky and wet. It was now dry, hard ground.
The Elephant became hungrier and hungrier. As he looked for food, his throat became drier and drier. As the air became hotter and drier, the most curious thing began to happen to the Elephant. He began to shrink. Soon, the Elephant became very tired and decided to rest under the shade of a tree. After some time, he heard the whistle of the Bush-Bird. The Elephant called out to the Bush-Bird in a weak voice: “Bush-Bird, I need your help. I have made Rain angry so she has run away to her family in the clouds. Tell her than I am shrinking. I need her to come back or I will die of thirst. Take this string of white beads from around my neck so she will know that I sent you”. The Bush-Bird let out a long whistle when she saw how the strong elephant had become too small and weak to even stand up. She flew off in search of the rain as fast as her little wings could carry her.
Kaggen was listening so carefully to the Bush-Bird’s story that he did not notice that they had become completely surrounded by clouds. “Look at all these clouds!” Exclaimed the shoes. The Bush-Bird said: “Rain must be somewhere close by.” Just then, they heard a soft but clear voice: “Who are you and why are looking for Rain?” They all looked around but there was nobody there apart from them. Kaggen cleared his throat and replied: “I am Kaggen, the mantis and this is Bush-Bird. We have been sent to find Rain. We have a message from her husband, Elephant.” “Why should I believe you?” Answered the voice. “Look, Bush-Bird has the necklace which Rain gave Elephant. He gave us this to prove that he sent us. Please, you must tell us where we can find Rain.” Pleaded Kaggen. And then, all of a sudden, she appeared wrapped in a dark blanket and the air filled with the smell of Rain: “I do not want to hear any messages from that stubborn, old fool.” “But Elephant wants you to come back.” Said Kaggen. “I will never go back!” said the Rain, her voice getting louder. “You do not understand,” wailed the Bush-Bird, “your husband is shrinking. He is dying of thirst.”
The Bush-Bird’s words made the Rain quiet. She was angry at the Elephant for being so boastful and stubborn but she still cared for him and did not want him to die of thirst. The Rain let out a big sigh and said: “Very well, Bush-Bird. I will go and help my husband but I hope that he has learnt his lesson.” And with those words, the Rain went to go and find the Elephant. When she finally found him, he had shrunk so much that he looked like a dry leaf lying under a tree. When the Elephant saw the Rain coming, he had just enough strength to open his mouth and fill himself with water. After the Rain had returned, it was not long before the Elephant was back to his old self but it was said that he was never heard boasting again.
