The Eaglephant

MAGPIE TALES

http://magpietales.blogspot.com/2011/10/mag-85.html

supplied the illustration

THE EAGLEPHANT

(A Fable)

An Elephant and an Eagle chanced to meet one day.

Said the Elephant to the Eagle 'Why do you look that way?

Why have you mighty wings that beat and let you rule the sky?

How come you are the King of all that great big realm on high?'

Said the Eagle to the Elephant ' It's because I am the best;

Very much superior to you and all the rest.'

'Oh no!' replied the Elephant ' I am of much more worth

Because I rule the creatures that are living here on earth.

My strength is truly wondrous; I could crush you with one blow.

I am superior to you. I think you ought to know!'

They argued and they argued about who should be the King,

The creature on Terra Ferma  or the creature on the wing.

They wrangled and they wrangled  and they almost came to blows

Till they both said 'This is silly! Why should we two be foes?

Let us combine our attributes, then all will be aware

That the mighty Eaglephant is King on Earth and in the Air!'

And so the Eaglephant was born, in truth a mighty creature

An Elephant with Eagle's wings, a most unusual feature.

But it was one that could not fly because of the great weight

And, in the jungle, it could not move! Such was the creature's fate!

Time and again the Eaglephant tried to run and soar,

Testing its equipment till it could try no more!

Exhausted, collapsing on the ground, it admitted its defeat

Admitting that an Eaglephant is an easy thing to beat.

So one went back to flying and one to stomping round,

Both of them magnificent, in the air or on the ground.

The moral of this story is  'Be happy with your lot'.

Or else you may lose even that which you thought you had got!

*

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Local News: Merewether Baths.

DANCE WITH DESTINY!

It poured with rain, as I remember;

Bleak was the winter's day....

When a young boy learned of his destiny,

Learned he was on his way.

He was leaving the confines of Newcastle

For the great wide world beyond;

Leaving, to dance in Europe,

The large sea, not the little pond.

And he leaped with joy at the notion,

And the newsman caught his joy,

As a pale sun emerged for a second

To shine on a golden boy.

*

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PS

Our son, Greg, and his wife are enjoying a holiday up at Byron Bay. Here are some shots of the resort. The sea can be seen from the bedroom, so it seems they'll have the best of both worlds. The resort is called 'Four Winds'.