You wouldn’t think it possible for a two-ton creature to sneak away from an entire circus staff, but it’s fascinating how easy it is to get caught up in your own pre-show work and ignore the elephant not in the room. It’s also fascinating how many people in a small town with a peanut butter factory will see an elephant walking down the street and assume that it’s none of their business - until the elephant knocks down the door of the aforementioned peanut butter factory.

Shelves collapsed, jars flying from side to side, the containers unable to be screwed open smashed open instead. A whole vat of peanuts waiting to be shelled upended all over the floor, creating a crunchy carpet. The walls were scraped with tusk marks and enormous round footprints cracked the tile. Merry snorting and contented slurping filled the air.

In the doorway, the elephant trainer’s daughter shook her head. “Oh, Jumbo. Not again!”

The elephant just kept merrily chowing down, unbothered by her distress.