This is the tale of how the Rhinoceros got his horn:
The rhinoceros was given his name because of the horn on his nose, but he did not always have this horn. He was once known as the simoneos, or flat-nosed-one, and he would snuffle his way along the ground eating the sweet grasses of the African savannah and letting the pretty birds sit on his back and eat the fat ticks behind his ears.
One day the simoneos was having a dust bath when the boa constrictor, Bo, came slithering along the path to visit him. Bo told him of the trouble in the animal kingdom. The king of all animals, Leo the lion, had eaten a hyena which had drunk the poisoned waters of the pool of Sowe. He was very ill and nothing could help him.
The simoneos was certain that there must be something that will help the king as he was still young and strong. Bo assured him that there was only one cure – tea made from the leaves of the bulewo plant. That plant only grows when the rains fall, and there had been no rain for months.
As he slept, the simoneos had a strange dream. In this dream, all the birds who always sat behind his ears and ate the ticks, whispered: “We can help you if you can help us!”
When he woke, the old and wise Strix, the shriek-owl, came forward and told Simoneos that, since he had for so many seasons allowed the birds to rest behind his ears and eat the ticks behind them, the birds wanted to thank him by making him a hero in the animal kingdom.
The birds settled on his spade-like nose and Simoneos flung them right up into the air to a height they could not reach by simply flying.
The birds soon resembled tiny ants in the sky as the strong nose and neck of Simoneos sent the birds higher than they had ever gone before. A whirring noise, like the winds in the north, broke the silence. The birds were flapping their wings while performing one great dance in the sky. Huge dark clouds hung over the savannah. Then the rains started.
The plants began to sprout and Bo squeezed some of the fresh leaves from the saplings and gave them to Simoneos so that he could use it to make the medicinal tea for the ailing king. The miracle tea cured the king and he soon sat up to speak to all those present.
He asked Simoneos to tell his story. He did, remembering to mention his good friends, Bo, Strix and all the birds, and how they had all played a part in helping to cure the king.
The king rewarded Simoneos by giving him a huge diamond. Simoneos put it onto his spade-like nose to carry it home, but – as if by magic – the diamond just stuck on the end, like a unicorn’s horn.
Simoneos discovered that he could use his new horn for all sorts of useful things, because it was so hard and strong, and the pretty birds could sit on it too! He was given a new name – Rhinoceros – which means ‘horn on your nose’. And that is how the Rhinoceros got his horn.
So, if you ever see a rhino charging, you must get right out of his way. For all we know, he may be trying to save the King again!
