Is the Circus in Town?

So the other day I was sitting calmly in the house and D, our cook, runs through the house saying, “Seekirum, seekirum (come quickly)!” Well, I hop up and bolt out the door to find a huge elephant at our gate! You know, cows, mutts, and sheep-goat looking things are among the normal travelers on our road, but elephants are definitely a new event for me! Aaah, the days of my childhood with herds of deer running through the front yard of our country farm are far behind me... I’ve got elephants now!! Actually, these elephants come by regularly – they are from the temple. They stop at each gate for people to come out, give money (which the elephant will take with it’s trunk from your hand) and then bless you (by giving you a snotty smack on the forehead also using it’s trunk). All that and the circus doesn’t even have to be in town.