JUST SO – The story as explained in the programme from the Chichester Festival Theatre Production

ACT ONE
The Eldest Magician is very pleased with all the animals he has created, until he realises that they all look the same. He tells them to go forth and play at what they are so they can find out more about themselves. All the animals agree except for Pau Amma the Crab who vows to play alone in the deep water and never be obedient.

Soon Pau Amma has grown so huge that even the Eldest Magician can’t control him. Twice a day he goes out in search for food, flooding the land. One day as the Elephants are discussing what to do, the Elephant’s Child bursts in full of questions. When the other Elephants decide to head for higher ground, the Elephant’s Child decides to find the Crab and make him stop. The Eldest Magician encourages the flightless Kolokolo Bird to join him on the journey to the Limpopo River, and gives them a boat to help them on their way.

Blown off-course, they wash up on an ‘uninhabited’ island where the Parsee Man and his beloved Cooking Stove reside. Unfortunately, because of the Crab, the Parsee Man has no ingredients to cook with. Nevertheless he is eventually persuaded to use his emergency rations to cook a special cake as a gift for Pau Amma. But as the completed cake emerges, the Rhinoceros rushes off with it. Parsee Man vows revenge as the Elephant’s Child and Kolokolo Bird set sail.

The little boat reaches Africa. On the High Veldt, Giraffe, Zebra and Wildebeest lounge around whilst Leopard and Jaguar make advances. When Elephant’s Child asks the cats for help in finding Pau Amma, the ferocious felines agree, in exchange for help finding Giraffe and Zebra. Instead the Elephant’s Child persuades Giraffe and Zebra to escape into the jungle with himself and Kolokolo Bird.

But in the Jungle the Giraffe and Zebra stick out like sore thumbs, so together with the Eldest Magician the Elephant’s Child finds a way to disguise them. Just as everyone is celebrating, Pau Amma appears. The Elephant’s Child politely asks him to stop playing with the sea, but the plan backfires. Kolokolo Bird and Elephant’s Child set off once again towards the Limpopo River.

ACT TWO

The Elephant’s Child and Kolokolo Bird are lost and start to row, eventually choosing to go their separate ways. In the Howling Desert, the Eldest Magician tries to teach the Elephant’s Child a lesson by telling the story of how the Kangaroo got its huge hind legs.

Meanwhile in the Jungle the Kolokolo Bird is trying to overcome her fear of flying when she’s caught by the Jaguar and Leopard. The Elephant’s Chi!d comes to her rescue with the help of the camouflaged Giraffe and Zebra. In order to insure his safe passage with the Kolokolo Bird, the Elephant’s Child teaches the two cats how the trick of camouflage is achieved.

At that moment the Parsee Man and Cooking Stove appear in a boat made from an upturned crab shell, the Rhino chasing them. They explain how the Parsee Man got his revenge on the Rhino by putting cake crumbs in his skin Eventually they agree to be friends and walk off, leaving the Parsee Man’s boat behind.

At last the Elephant’s Child has reached the Limpopo River. The Crocodile offers help but instead tries to eat him. The Kolokolo Bird `flies’ to the rescue, and the Elephant’s Child escapes with a newly enlarged nose.

Now the two friends are finally reconciled they notice the Parsee Man’s abandoned crab-shell boat, which gives them a clue as to how they might defeat Pau Amma. With the help of the Eldest Magician they put their plan into action, and at last all the animals are safe from the Crab’s meddling.