The Wonderground

22 - Elephants & Castles

The vibrations were repeating regularly and methodically now. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

"I'm confused," admitted Rose, her voice quivering with the vibrations. "Are you saying those are elephants we can feel?" She grabbed the railing to stop herself from falling over. "How many elephants?"

"Just one," smiled Eeleye knowingly. "Patience, children." They tried pushing their heads through the railings to better see the arrival of an elephant below them. "Here he is now," grinned the conductor, pointing at the mountains in the distance. The six strained their eyes against the sun and scoured the rolling landscape in front of them.

"That round hill over there," Isla remarked. "It's...moving!"

"Don't be silly," snorted Elliot in response. "Hills can't move!"

"I see it too!" cried Rose. "A hill with a town at the very top. It's getting closer!"

As the 'hill' grew larger, they made out the curves of two enormous ears and a great trunk lolling down and scraping the earth. Positioned on its immense back were the whitewashed walls and terracotta pan tile roofs of countless buildings, piled up like an ice-cream sundae, with a single watch tower at the very top and centre. The trunk lifted and issued forth a raucous trumpet sound.

"That's an..." Elliot could not finish his sentence.

"Elephant, yes," obliged Eeleye.

"But it's..." stammered Jack, with the same inability to finish his sentence.

"About five hundred metres tall, yes," noted Eeleye.

"He's the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen," gawked Isla in awe.

"Wait till you see his dung pile!" smirked Eeleye.

The elephant was heading purposefully towards them. Its head was level with them on the platform. As it drew close it positioned itself at the end of the platform beyond the gates. It unfurled its trunk so that the tip came to rest perfectly against the platform edge on the far side of the gates. The elephant snorted a short melodious fanfare and the twin gates opened together. The trunk was creased with two deep wrinkles that ran lengthways from the tip all the way towards its huge eyes in the distance.

"Toddle off and do some exploring," initiated Eeleye, ushering them through the gates with his waving arms. "Keep left," he instructed, "and try to avoid placing your hands on his skin. He is ticklish and you do not want to be on that trunk when he sneezes!"

"You want us to walk on its trunk?" doubted Elliot.

"Of course, I do. How else are you going to reach the village?" he replied, pointing beyond the elephant's head.

"Where exactly is the village?" enquired Charlie politely.

"Just follow the trunk," said the conductor, "and do not look down," he winked at Isla. The colour drained from her face.

They stepped cautiously onto the left-hand wrinkle of the elephant's trunk. It felt soft and squishy under their feet and was wide enough to walk three abreast. The trunk's crease came up to their waists. It reminded Rose of the horizontal travelator at Heathrow airport when she had arrived in August. Except that it was an elephant! The trunk sloped upwards from the station gates, and they could just see the gentle creature's soft walnut-brown eyes sparkling in the distance.

After a couple of minutes walking, they heard excited voices and saw several heads bobbing up and down further along the trunk to their right. Of course, thought Charlie. They must be passengers from the village walking to catch the train. A group of ten people passed them on the opposite side and they received several warm greetings.