The elephant had been waiting in the clearing for quite awhile and passed his time in a persistent, if somewhat odd, manner. He would stand stock-still, keeping even his tail motionless, then give his front legs a slight bend, turn his head from side to side, and make a racing gallop across the grass, coming to an abrupt halt for no discernible reason. He would then look around, shake his head, dig a tusk into the earth, emit a very unelephant-like snort, and start the whole procedure over again. In fact, he became so involved in these events that he did not notice a cloud move cautiously across the sky and come to a stop over one corner of the clearing. The cloud hovered a few minutes, and it was only as he was giving his head one of those series of shakes that he noticed it in the otherwise blue sky. He grinned foolishly and walked over to where the cloud was descending.
“How long were you waiting?” asked the elephant.
“I am a patient God,” said God. “I was prepared to stay until showtime finished.”
“I suppose I looked silly.”
“I’m always willing to give the benefit of the doubt,” answered God. “So let’s say that you looked peculiar.”
“I have my reasons,” said the elephant.
“I’ve come to expect nothing less,” said the cloud. “Though I assume, hopefully, that there is more to this than meets the eye.”
“I want to be a bull.”
“Oy veh,” answered God.
“I’m wondering if you can help me?” asked the elephant.
“A bull?”
“A bull.”
“There have been many requests to be a bullfighter,” said God, “but you are the first who wants to be a bull.”
“I’ve been learning to snort.”
“There’s more to it than that,” began the cloud.
“SNORT,” said the elephant.
“Not bad,” said God.
“And I’ve been running and learning to charge,” he gave a pause for breath. “And I even have a name for myself.”
“Can I guess?” asked God.
“El Elefante,” said the elephant.
“I was right,” said God.
“How did you know?”
“It just seems to fit, somehow,” answered God.
“I think I’m getting pretty good,” said the elephant, none too modestly.
“Tell me something,” said God.
“What?”
“Do you, er, know what happens in a bullfight?”
“Pretty well,” said the elephant. “I’ve been watching some travelogues at the Mission, and one was about Spain.”
“But do you know,” asked God, “what happens at the end of the bullfight?”
“Well …,” the elephant looked slightly perplexed. “No, not really. The projector broke down before it was over.” The elephant brightened up. “But there was talk about something to do with ears, and you know I have the largest set of ears you’ll find.”
“That’s true,” smiled God. “But …” The cloud lowered even more. “Come over closer,” said God. “I think it’s time we had a little chat.”