The elephant and the sidewinder.

Like every morning, the bull elephant prepared for his short trip to the watering hole.

At fifty years of age, he was just slightly off his prime. Veteran of a thousand and one battles, his scars and broken tusk told of his story to be the lord of the Namib desert.

The sidewinder felt the deep rumbling in his underground lair with unease. He got to think that the pachiderm, in his malice, was choosing to create havoc near his home.

The behemoth, however, was oblivious of the crooked, creeping serpent's existence from his lofty viewpoint.

His attention was focused on however many sweet memories as can fit into an elephant's memory. Which is, very many.

That particular day, the sidewinder chose to stand up to the bull elephant. With a chorus of hissing and much revolving, he sought to frighten the elephant as he had done with others in the past.

Oblivious, the elephant stepped over the serpent. It became a red smear wiped clean on the next step on the hot sand.

A myriad of driver ants cleaned the scant remains within the hour. The hot desert sand and wind dessicated the few bones left.

On his way back home, the bull elephant trampled over the dry bones, which, now pulverized, mingled with the endless sand.

To this day, the pachiderm remains unaware that there was a serpent "once upon a time".

And he continued to enjoy his stately stroll of every morning.