Summary

The novel was originally told from the perspective of a nurse at an elderly living facility. One day, she brought her son Karl and his friends to the nursing home with her because it was a snow day at school. Karl began talking to one of her patients, an 82-year-old woman named Elizabeth, whom the narrator nicknamed Lizzie. Although Lizzie was physically weak, she was very spirited and direct.

Lizzie told Karl that she had once had an elephant live in her garden, but the narrator later explained to Karl that Lizzie was elderly and sick, so she might not always say accurate things. The next afternoon, however, Karl returned to the room and Lizzie began to tell her story about the elephant.

Lizzie began by telling Karl that she had a little brother named Karli. She...