HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS

By Ernest Hemingway as adapted by Ashley Box

T h e h i l l s a c r o s s t h e v a l l e y o f t h e E b r o w e r e l o n g a n d w h i t e .

T h e A m e r i c a n a n d t h e g i r l w i t h h i m s a t a t a t a b l e i n t h e s h a d e …

“..beer.”

“What should we drink?”

“It’s pretty hot,”

T h e w o m a n b r o u g h t t w o g l a s s e s o f b e e r … T h e g i r l w a s l o o k i n g o ff i n t h e h i l l s …

“No, you wouldn’t have”

“They look like white elephants,”

“I’ve never seen one,”

“What does it say on the curtain?”

“Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.”

“You started it.”

“It tastes like licorice.. everything tastes of licorice.”

“Oh, cut it out.”

That’s all we do isn’t it – look at things and try new drinks?”

“I guess so.”

“It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig… It’s not really an operation at all. I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in. I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.”

“Then what will we do afterward?”

“We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before… It’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.”

“… if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t really want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple.”

“Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.”

“Well I care about you.”

T h e g i r l s t o o d u p a n d w a l k e d t o t h e e n d o f t h e s t a t i o n . A c r o s s , o n t h e o t h e r s i d e , w e r e fi e l d s o f g r a i n a n d t r e e s a l o n g t h e b a n k s o f t h e E b r o . F a r a w a y , b e y o n d t h e r i v e r , w e r e m o u n t a i n s . T h e s h a d o w o f a c l o u d m o v e d a c r o s s t h e fi e l d o f g r a i n a n d s h e s a w t h e r i v e r t h r o u g h

t h e t r e e s .

“And we could have all this, and we could have everything.”

“We can have everything.”

“No, we can’t. “We can have the

whole world.”“No, we can’t. It isn’t ours anymore.”

“Could we have another beer?... Can’t we maybe stop talking?” “I don’t want you to

do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you… I don’t want anybody but you. I don’t want anyone else. And I know it’s perfectly simple..”

“Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?”

“But I don’t want you to, I don’t care anything about it.” “I’ll

scream,”

“The train is coming in five minutes. I’d better take the bags over to the other side of the station.”

“All right. Then come back and we’ll finish the beer.”

H e p i c k e d u p t h e t w o h e a v y b a g s a n d c a r r i e d t h e m a r o u n d t h e s t a t i o n t o t h e o t h e r t r a c k s . H e l o o k e d u p

t h e t r a c k s b u t c o u l d n o t s e e t h e t r a i n .