(in Dr. Francisco Hernández’s version):
“The elephant is the animal closest to the human senses, for it understands the language of its country, obeys its superior and remembers the trades it learns; it loves love and honor and, something found in few men, is capable of kindness, prudence and justice. They recognize the stars as deities and worship the sun and moon.
 Some authors write that herds descend into the forests of Mauritania, at the time of the new moon, to a river called Amilo, and that there, purified, they sprinkle themselves with solemnity, and that after having thus worshipped this planet, they return to the mountains, carrying before them the youngest, whom they understand to be tired”.
The elephant is the creator and ruler of the world. In the Jungle Book, it is he who enforces the truce of the waters and the balance that establishes the law of the jungle. He is revered in many cultures.
He carries the delicious monstera, a symbol of balance and harmony, and the fern, a primitive plant that is the origin of time.
He also carries two herons. In Egyptian mythology, the heron corresponds to the hieroglyph “Bennu”, later associated with the phoenix bird of the Greeks. The heron represents immortality, vital regeneration, the end and the beginning, and is associated with the flooding of the Nile.
This year, southern Europe has been marked by low rainfall and a lack of water.
May the water truce begin, and may the elephant never be absent to witness it.