"Monseigneur l'Éléphant" by Rudyard Kipling is a short story written in the late 19th century. This story, drawn from Kipling's "Many Inventions," centers around the character of Mulvaney, a soldier who recounts a remarkable encounter involving an elephant and the chaos that ensues. The narrative promises humor and insight into human-animal relationships in a colonial setting, particularly highlighting the challenges soldiers face with the elephants that assist in their duties. At the start of the story, the scene is set during a hot evening where the soldiers are tending to twelve government elephants. The protagonist, Térence Mulvaney,, introduces the other soldiers, along with his pet dog, Vixen, who momentarily causes a commotion among the elephants. Mulvaney shares anecdotes about elephants' unpredictable behavior and the cultural perceptions surrounding these majestic creatures. The narrative hints at a past incident where Mulvaney had a memorable encounter with an elephant, building anticipation for the tale to unfold that promises elements of humor, camaraderie, and adventure amidst military life. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Mostly translated stories from the collection Many inventions. Du pain sur la face des eaux is translated from a story in the collection The day's work.
Note
Reading ease score: 80.3 (6th grade). Easy to read.
Contents
Monseigneur l'Éléphant -- Brugglesmith -- Du pain sur la face des eaux -- L'honneur du soldat Ortheris -- Un aspect de la question -- Judson et l'Empire -- L'histoire de Badalia Herodsfoot -- Les Enfants du Zodiaque.
Credits
Véronique Le Bris, Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de (BnF/Gallica))
