Elephants and Our English Language

My mom sent me this joke (have yet to see proof this is a true story) and it’s making its way around inboxes everywhere. Regardless, it makes me laugh.
Some five-year old students are learning to read.
Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said, “Look at this! It’s a frickin’ elephant!”
The teacher took a deep breath, then asked, “What did you call it?”
“It’s a frickin’ elephant! It says so on the picture!”
And so it does…
African Elephant