a hundred years a go, the world was very different.
Poor people lived in cold, dark homes, and never saw a doctor when they were ill,
And if you were poor and very, very ugly......
this is the story of a Poor. ugly man,
Nobody loved him, everyone laughed at him, they put him in a cage,
like an animal at the zoo. then one day a doctor saw him and thought,
This poor man is interesting. i want to study him,
Slowly the Elephant man became famous, and everyone wanted to meet him. even the QUEEN
visited him!
but what was the elephant man really like? did he think and feel like other people?
was he a sad, angry, man? could he ever smile and laugh, and forget his ugly face
and his strange. ugly body?
chapter 1
THE CREATURE IN THE SHOP
My name is Dr Frederick Treves. I am a doctor at the London Hospital.
one day in 1884, i saw a picture in the window of a shop near the hospital. i stopped in front
of a shop and looked at the picture. at first felt interested, then i felt angry
then afraid. it was a horrible, ugly picture. there was a man in the picture but he did not
look like a man, he looked like an elephant.
i read the writing under the picture. it said:
come in and see the elephant man. two pence.
there was a man in the shop. he was a dirty man
in an old coat with a cigarette in his mouth. what do you want? he asked.
i'd like to see the elephant man. please. i said.
the man looked at me angrily. well, you can't he said. the shop closing now.
you can come back tomorrow.
i'm sorry, i said, but i would like to see him now
i have no time tomorrow i have a lot of work to do, but i can give you more then two pence
the man looked at me carefully. then he took the cigarette out of his mouth
and smiled with his yellow teeth.
all right sir he said give me twelve pence then.
i gave him the money and he opened a door at the back of the shop.
we want into a little room, the room was cold and dark, and there was a horrible smell in it.
A creature sat on chair behind a table. i say a creature.
because it was not a man or a woman. like you or me.
the creature did not move or look at us. it sat very quietly on the chair in the cold
dark, dirty room. and looked at the table.
the creature had a cloth over its head
because of the cold. on the table in front of it, there was a dead flower
stand up! said the shopkeeper.
loudly. The creature stood up slowly. it took the old cloth off its head，
and put it on the chair. I looked at the creature and felt sad. I am a doctor
so i know a lot about accidents and ill people.
I see horrible. ugly things every day. but this creature this thing.
was the worst of all. where were no men or women in the hospital like him.
he wore some old trousers, but no shirt, coat, or shoes,
so i could see his body very well, his head was the most interesting thing.
it was very, very big - like an enormous bag with a lot of books in it,
the head did not have much hair. and there was another bag of brown,
dirty skin at the back of it. this skin came down below his neck.
i could not see one of his eyes very well, front of his face, too.
an enormous red tooth came out of his mouth, under his nose. it looked like an elephant's tooth.
the mouth and nose were like holes in the face. the face could not smile
or laugh or look angry or sad. because the skin could not move. it was dead,
like an elephant's face.
there were more bags of dirty skin on the front and back of the creature's body.
there bags came down to his legs. the right arm was enormous, and there were bags
of skin on it, too. the right hand was like a man's foot.
but the left hand - the left arm and the left hand were beautiful!
the left arm had wonderful skin, and the fingers of the left hand were long and beautiful.
it was like a young woman's hand! walk, merrick! said the shopkeeper angrily,
come on quickly move! he hit the creature with his hand.
slowly the creature walked across the room. but he could not walk well,
his legs were very big and fat, and he had a bad back. he could not walk far without a stick.
all right think you, i said let him sit down, i don't
want to see any more, i felt ill, and the smell in the room was very bad.
yes sir, said the shopkeeper, sit down merrick.
we went out of the room and closed the door, the shopkeeper smiled at me with his yellow teeth.
wonderful sir, isn't it ? he said. the best elephant man in England!
hundreds of people come to see him! i take him all over the country, i do!
yes, very interesting, i said, can i sit down?
yes sir, of course. here's chair. he looked at me smiling, would you like a glass of weter. sir?
yes please, i said, then i looked at the things in the dirty shop,
there were two or three bad apples and some old black bananas the was all. no no,thank you.
i'm all right, i said. did you.... did you call the creature merrick?
that's right sir, joseph merrick. the best elephant man in England!
i take him all over the country, you know, lots of people want to see him.
yes, i see, do you get a lot of money?
well, sometimes we do, sir, yes, but it's difficult, you see, sir because of the police.
the police don't like us. you see. sir so we can't stay in a town very long. we
usually move every week, yes i see, well. anyway, mr....er? silcock, sir simon silcock,
yes, well Mr silcock, i'm a doctor at the london hospital, my name is dr treves,
i think this ...er...this man joseph merrick is very interesting, and i would like to see
him at the hospital. i want to look at him more carefully, you see.
yes sir, i see, but how can he get to the hospital? it's going to be difficult.
why. man? the hospital's not far from here,
well, yes, sir. i know, but you see, merrick can't walk very well. he needs help.
you can come with him, do you want more money? is that it ?
well. yes sir. i do. but. you see. people are afraid of him too ...in the road.
little boys always run after him and hit him. then the police get angry because people are afraid.
sometimes they take us to prison.
i see i said, well, how can he come to the hospital. then?
bring a cab, sir, said slicock. you can take him to the hospital in a cab.