''The Ant and the Elephant'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Bill Peet and was adapted into a family musical for the stage. Publsihed by HMH Books for Young Readers in 1972, it is based on the Aesop Fable entitled ''
The Dove and the Ant
The Dove and the Ant is a story about the reward of compassionate behaviour. Included among Aesop's Fables, it is numbered 235 in the Perry Index.
The fable
There has been little variation in the fable since it was first recorded in Greek sources ...
''.
Plot
An
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
is stranded on an island; since he can't swim, the ant asks a
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
for help. The turtle selfishly refuses (because he's already had his swim for the day); shortly thereafter, he falls on his back and can't right himself. So he asks a hornbill for help; she selfishly refuses ("This will teach you not to be so clumsy," she says), and then her egg falls out of its nest. It's too heavy for her to carry, so she asks a giraffe for help, but the giraffe is too proud to assist her. Then the giraffe's legs get hopelessly ensnarled in some
vines
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
; he asks a lion for help, but the lion just laughs and strolls on. Then a boulder rolls onto the lion's tail, trapping him. He asks a
rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
for help, but when he can't think of any way to return the favor, the rhino strolls on...until he gets his horn embedded in a
stump
Stump may refer to:
* Stump (band), a band from Cork, Ireland and London, England
* Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball
*Stump (dog): Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (born 1998), 200 ...
. Then an
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
notices and helps each of the animals in turn, starting with the ant - the only one who bothers to thank the elephant. Shortly after the elephant has assisted everyone, he himself falls into a
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.musical. The play was adapted by the creators of ''The Musical Adventures of
Flat Stanley
''Flat Stanley'' is an American children's book series written by author Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 – December 3, 2003). The idea for the book began as a bedtime story for Brown’s sons, which Brown turned into the first Flat Stanley book. Th ...
''.
Reception
;Book
A review by Elephanteria Library Books About Elephants includes, "Good illustrations; look like pencil and/or pastel work. Lesson in helping and showing gratitude. Recommended for early readers and younger".
On
Goodreads
Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...
, it received a score of 4.13 (out of 5) based on 516 ratings and 43 reviews.
;Musical
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
's MSC Opas said that the play has a catchy score by the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
winning team of ''
The Drowsy Chaperone
''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar.
The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater fan who, feeling "blue", decides to p ...