Achoo!

Deepa Balsavar

“ Achoo ! ” went Monkey. She had a terrible cold.
“That was loud. I almost fell off the tree,” said Koel, poking his head through the leaves.

“Really?” asked Monkey. “If this is loud,
how loud do you think an
elephant’s sneeze would be?”
“I can only guess,” said Koel.
“Maybe as loud as this…
... Aa ch oo ! ”

“That’s not loud enough!” said Porcupine. “An elephant’s sneeze is much louder than that!”
“ Ach OO ! ”
He blew out his little cheeks and his pointy nose quivered.

“Grunt, grunt,” said Wild Boar.
“That’s not loud enough.
An elephant’s sneeze must be huge!”

And taking a deep breath, she went,
“ AAch OO , grunt, grunt.”

“What’s all this noise?” asked Deer.
“Do you know how loud an elephant’s sneeze is?” asked Monkey.
“I always sneeze politely,” said Deer with a sniff. “But an elephant must have a huge, disgusting sneeze, like this!

... AAA CHoo !
... AAA CHoo !
Excuse me.”

“ A A A C H oo ! ”

All the animals jumped. Wild Buffalo joined the group.
“That’s an elephant’s sneeze,” he said proudly.
Deer, Wild Boar, Porcupine, Koel and Monkey looked at him with admiration.

“Not bad, but not quite!” purred a low voice.
Wild Buffalo’s nose quivered.
Tiger leaped out from behind the bushes. She threw her head back, opened her mouth wide and gave the loudest sneeze you could ever imagine.

She went,
“AAACHOO!”

Elephant walked into the clearing.
“Pardon me,” he said to Tiger,
“Do you have a cold too?
I have one and I am going to sneeze.”

“What?” roared Tiger .
“What?” bellowed Wild Buffalo.
“What?” barked Deer .
“What?” grunted Wild Boar .
“What?” squealed Porcupine .
“What?” sang Koel .
'Oh wow!' thought Monkey .

“ Ah ... aah ... AAH ...” went Elephant.
The whole forest waited.
‘Here it comes,’ thought Monkey.

“Aah... aaah... aaah...
aaah... aaaaah . ..
Aah ... AAH... "

"…hrrmmp!”

“That felt good!” said Elephant.
“Nothing like a sneeze to clear out the trunk.”
Then he looked around and wondered,
‘Where have all the others gone?’

Koel began to laugh.
“Now do you know how big an elephant’s sneeze is?” he asked Monkey.
“Yes,” said Monkey “but...”
“Not another question!” wailed Koel and flew hurriedly away.