There are, however, several other "Horton" stories. Example, "Horton
Lays an Egg" which is about Horton tending to the nest of a very
unresponsible mother bird, Maizey. Because Horton is true to his word,
he sits on the egg in bad weather, he fends off hunters and is subjected
to teasing by his funny jungle friends. He eventually is sold to a
circus along with his tree and nest. Coincidentally, Maizie happens to
be passing through on her way to Palm Beach and recognizes Horton and
her egg. Just as the egg is about to hatch Maizie now wishes to claim
it; however, an "elephant bird" (another reference to a flying elephant)
is hatched. The "baby" is bonded to Horton and not Maizie. I don't
know if Dr. Suess made any further references in any subsequent stories
about this elephant with wings....
Patty Campbell
Corning Incorporated
Legal Department
MP-HQ-E2-10
Corning, NY 14831
(607) 974-8188 (phone)
(607) 974-8262 (fax)
campbell_pj@corning.com
----------
From: ValdiviaE
To: Susan Ginter
Cc: law-lib
Subject: RE: Elephant/Bird Quotation - Summary
Date: Thursday, March 13, 1997 9:02AM
Your reference in not in the story, Horton hears a who, by Dr. Seuss.
I've
seen it recently. It's about an elephant who hears something, a voice
crying out to him on a flower, and noone believes him... Children's
tales
.... :)
Eve Valdivia
Acquisitions Specialist
Howrey & Simon
Washington, DC
valdiviae@howrey.com
________________________________________________________________________
____
___
From: Susan Ginter on Wed, Mar 12, 1997 7:51 PM
Subject: Elephant/Bird Quotation - Summary
To: 'law-lib@ucdavis.edu'
To everyone who replied to my quotation request re:
"the
elephant who thought he was bird. Alas, when he jumped off the cliff, he
realized too late he was not a bird."
THANK YOU for your responses!
Everyone who replied suggested Dumbo, and I first thought "Ah ha! That's
it!" But unfortunately it is not. The idea the attorney is trying to
convey is that the elephant meets his demise as a result of his
misperception of himself. Dumbo can fly but doesn't know it, unlike the
elephant in the fable, who thinks he can fly but really can't. Another
good
brainstorm response was Horton the elephant from Dr. Suess.
It's entirely possible that the attorney is standing the Dumbo theme on
its
head, twisting the meaning to meet his own needs. When I told him I
haven't
found the source, though, he offered a new piece of information: "Maybe
it
isn't an elephant; it's probably a different animal, perhaps an
alligator."
[sigh]
I really am stumped. My partner on this project went the route of
searching
fables and children's stories, whereas I took the path of quotations and
proverbs. Neither of us turned up anything beyond what the law-lib
experts
came up with, viz., that it rings a striking familiarity to Dumbo.
I'm ready to lay this project to rest, but I can't help thinking that
I've
heard this story somewhere. If anyone has any further thoughts, I'd love
to
hear them. I'll be happy to post any new information to the list.
Susan
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