English Original
A five-year-old boy lived with his mother after his parents' divorce. One Sunday, she decided to take him to the zoo for the first time. As they passed the various animals, she told him their names and had him repeat them. After seeing lions, gorillas, giraffes, and bears, they reached the elephant exhibit.
"That's an elephant," the mother said.
After repeating it, the boy asked, "Mommy? What's that thing hanging down from the elephant?"
The mother replied, "That's his trunk, sweetheart."
"No, no," said the child, "Behind that!"
"Oh, that's his tail," she said.
"No, no!" the boy exclaimed. "That thing in the middle!"
The woman was flustered and replied, "Uhhh, that's nothing, honey!" And they moved on.
The next weekend, the boy's father came to pick him up. The child cried, "Daddy, let's go to the zoo! I learned all about the animals, and I want to show you!"
The father agreed, and off they went. At each cage, the child shouted the animal's name, and the father praised him. Finally, they arrived at the elephant cage.
"Elephant!" the boy shouted.
"Very good!" beamed the father. "I'm proud of you for remembering!"
The boy asked, "Daddy? What's that thing hanging down on the elephant?"
The father replied, "That's his trunk."
"No!" the boy moaned, "Behind that!"
"That's his tail," the father replied.
"No, no! That thing in the middle!"
The father stammered, "Er... what did your mother say it was?"
"She said it was nothing!"
"Well," the man said, puffing out his chest, "Your mother's spoiled!"
中文翻译
一个五岁的小男孩在父母离婚后和母亲住在一起。一个星期天，母亲决定第一次带他去动物园。当他们经过各种动物时，母亲会告诉他动物的名字，并让他重复。看完狮子、大猩猩、长颈鹿和熊后，他们来到了大象展区。
"那是大象，"母亲说。
小男孩重复后问道："妈妈？大象身上垂下来的那个东西是什么？"
母亲回答："那是它的鼻子，宝贝。"
"不，不，"孩子说，"鼻子后面那个！"
"哦，那是它的尾巴，"她说。
"不，不！"男孩喊道。"中间那个东西！"
女人有些慌乱，回答说："呃……那个什么也不是，亲爱的！"然后他们就继续往前走了。
下一个周末，男孩的父亲来接他。孩子喊道："爸爸，我们去动物园吧！我认识了所有的动物，我想给你看看！"
父亲同意了，于是他们就出发了。在每个笼子前，孩子都会喊出动物的名字，父亲则表扬他。最后，他们来到了大象笼子前。
"大象！"男孩喊道。
"非常好！"父亲笑着说。"你能记住这些动物，我真为你骄傲！"
男孩问："爸爸？大象身上垂下来的那个东西是什么？"
父亲回答："那是它的鼻子。"
"不！"男孩抱怨道，"鼻子后面那个！"
"那是它的尾巴，"父亲回答。
"不，不！中间那个东西！"
父亲结结巴巴地说："呃……你妈妈说那是什么？"
"她说那什么也不是！"
"好吧，"男人挺起胸膛说，"你妈妈被宠坏了！"