The Old Elephant and The Hopscotch Tournament

Several years back, on my journey across the world as we know it, I stumbled across an old Sheik with many stories. He would tell of rags to riches and of moral dilemmas, of the personal sort. There is one story in particular that still sticks out in my memory from this peculiar man. This would be the story he told of The Old Elephant and The Hopscotch Tournament. I will try to retell this story in all of it's glory and circumstance....
So it goes, as it always has, that elephants are humongous, clumsy animals with a good memory and a tamable attitude. Well, the older the elephant the smarter he is, this was the case of the Old Elephant in this story. This Old Elephant was so intelligent that he had taught himself how to speak. After he mastered the local vocabulary he began to learn how to walk on two legs. When this magnificent feat had been accomplished he then taught himself how to run. Once all of his mobile skills had been acquired the Old Elephant took a liking to the children's activity we know as hopscotch. Through practice and dedication the Old Elephant became quite good at hopscotch, so good in fact that he challenged the very skilled local children to a tournament of the hopscotch variety. People came from near, far, here and there to witness such a spectacle. Thousands were in attendance as the tournament began. The Old Elephant tried so hard, he tried his best, but the children beat him quickly and decisively. As the crowds were subsiding and everyone was going back to their lives, the Old Elephant sat questioning why he had lost so easily when he had trained so hard. Nobody in the departing crowd had an answer to his question. When the locals were all that remained at the tournament site, a small child walked up to the Old Elephant with wisdom way beyond her years and said, "You're an Elephant." So it goes, as it always has.