Weighing the Elephant

Teya Rosenberg is an assistant professor of English specializing in
children’s literature at Southwest Texas State University.

In the village of Beyond the Clouds, two elephants help the villagers
accomplish the daily chores. As the elephants work, their baby,
Huan-huan, plays with their keeper, Hei-dou, and the other children of
the village. When the cruel Emperor hears of Huan-huan’s playfulness,
he orders his soldiers to bring the baby elephant to his palace to
entertain the Imperial family. Despite the protests of Hei-dou and the
other villagers, Huan-huan is taken away. When the elephant will not
perform for the Imperial family, the Emperor sends him back to the
villagers; but they can keep the elephant only if they manage, in two
days, to weigh him. Hei-dou comes up with an ingenious solution and
Huan-huan stays in the village, away from the Emperor, who in turn loses
his taste for cruel riddles.

The story has some inconsistencies; it cannot seem to decide if the
elephants are independent beings or servants to the villagers. However,
the story of Hei-dou’s clever solution is well told, and the
watercolor illustrations evoke well a Chinese landscape and art style.
Recommended.