The Elephant and the First Well

During the first great drought, the land was baked hard and all the waterholes dried up. The animals were dying. The first Elephant, who was the wisest and oldest of all creatures, went to the top of Mount Kulal and prayed to Nkai. Nkai spoke to him. "Go down to the plains," Nkai said. "Walk until your heart tells you to stop. Where you stop, there is water. You must show my children how to find it." The Elephant walked for days. He finally stopped in a dry riverbed at a place called Sererit. His heart told him this was the place. He began to dig with his great tusks, something no animal had ever done before. He dug all day and all night. Finally, cool, fresh water began to seep into the hole. All the animals came and drank and were saved. The Elephant had dug the first well. The Samburu learned from the Elephant, and to this day they know how to dig wells in dry riverbeds to find water, a skill taught to them by the wise Elephant.