An unnamed narrator begins the story by stating that he has read about an elephant’s disappearance in the local newspaper. As part of his meticulous morning routine, the narrator reads the whole newspaper from front to back each day. On this morning, he finds the article about the disappearing elephant on the front page of the regional section. The headline is large and there is a picture of the empty elephant house. The article says that the elephant was old and was last seen in its usual place. The narrator relays the details of the article, including how the elephant’s shackle was found locked and that the elephant’s caretaker was also missing. The narrator goes on to explain how the town came to adopt the elephant after the local zoo shut down to make way for high-rise condos to be built. Although some people fought against the elephant’s adoption, the mayor convinced them to take in the elephant, as it would only be beneficial to the town.

The narrator says that he had been in favor of the elephant being owned by the town. He recalls the events of the elephant’s welcome ceremony, where the town exuberantly welcomed the establishment of the elephant house. During the ceremony, the elephant did nothing but stare into the distance. It did not even seem to care about the heavy steel shackle placed around its leg. The narrator goes on to describe the elephant’s keeper, who is paid a yearly salary to continue taking care of the elephant whom he had cared for over the past decade. The elderly elephant keeper seems like a kind, if awkward, person who clearly loves the elephant. The narrator notes how close the keeper and elephant are, describing how they seem to communicate by mysterious means. The narrator has tried to figure out if they speak with taps, words, or even telepathy, and has even asked the keeper directly. The keeper simply replied that he and the elephant have been together for many years.

The narrator finishes reminiscing and reads the rest of the article on the elephant’s disappearance. He notes that the incident offers a compelling mystery that Sherlock Holmes himself would find exciting. The narrator remarks that everyone involved in the story seems confused by the elephant’s disappearance. At first, the narrator tries to explain away what happened, but he is ultimately struck by the impossibility of the circumstances. The elephant’s shackle was found locked tight and nobody, not even the elephant’s caretaker, could access the keys to unlock the shackle. Moreover, the route out of the elephant house would be impossible for the elephant, and nobody could find any trace of the elephant in the surrounding areas.

The narrator surmises that the only possible explanation is that the elephant vanished out of existence, but he realizes that nobody would admit this possibility. People have various theories, but there is no evidence for any of them. The article also explains the background of the keeper, a knowledgeable zookeeper from Chiba Prefecture, and the elephant, which arrived in Japan from East Africa two decades earlier. The newspaper urges anyone with information to tell the police, and the narrator contemplates calling but decides against it since the police wouldn’t believe what he has to say about the vanished elephant. The narrator cuts out the article and puts it inside his scrapbook before going to work.

The seven o’clock news shows another report which the narrator watches. Nobody has managed to find the elephant in the woods despite the small area and the large size of the elephant. The reporters declare the situation to be a mystery. Over the next several days, no new information emerges. The narrator continues to cut out and save any articles relating to the elephant, but he’s not satisfied by anything he reads. Eventually, people begin to lose interest. Over the next few months, the narrator keeps visiting the empty elephant house, looking through the gate and taking note of how sad and empty the place now seems.

At a company party, the narrator, who works in the PR department at an electrical appliance manufacturer, meets a magazine editor. As he shows her the appliances made by his company, the narrator talks about how important unity is in a kitchen, in order to make it a pleasant place to work and spend time. He says he’s a salesman and cooks in his kitchen each day, which is how he knows so much about the importance of unity in kitchens. The narrator uses the English word for kitchen, and he corrects the woman when she uses the Japanese word. The narrator goes on to say that unity is important, because it’s something you can sell to people. People want to feel a sense of unity, and in the practical world, that’s what counts. The editor questions the narrator’s ideas, asking if the world is really so practical as the narrator imagines. The narrator doesn’t answer in a straightforward way but suggests that an emphasis on practicality makes things easier and explains a lot about the world. He says that everybody knows this, then changes the subject and offers the editor champagne.

The two drink champagne and switch out of business mode, starting a personal conversation and discovering they have a lot in common. The narrator enjoys talking with her. The two continue talking in the cocktail lounge as they drink, mostly about surface-level topics. Then, the narrator brings up the elephant. He’s not sure why he has brought it up, whether it was the alcohol or the ease he feels in talking to the editor. He regrets it immediately, feeling it’s not a good conversation topic, but the editor seems interested. She asks questions about the elephant’s disappearance, and he provides basic answers. He thinks she can tell he’s hiding something, and she asks about his reaction to the mysterious incident.  

The narrator lights a cigarette and notes that he had previously given up smoking but began again when the elephant disappeared. When the editor says the disappearance of the elephant was not something anyone could have predicted, the narrator answers “No, probably not.” The woman is confused by this particular wording and asks if he could see the disappearance coming. The narrator denies this, saying the disappearance could never be predicted and makes no sense, logically. The editor keeps pressing him, but the narrator doesn’t answer. The woman becomes uncomfortable with the narrator’s sudden silence and his change in attitude since the elephant came up. She says there’s something wrong with him and keeps pushing him to talk about why his attitude has changed so suddenly.  

The narrator decides to try and explain what he knows about the strange details of the elephant’s disappearance. He begins by confessing that he was likely the last person, aside from the caretaker, to see the elephant still in its house. He reveals that he would often secretly watch the elephant after visiting hours, from a clear vantage point on a hill behind the elephant house. He would watch through an air vent in the roof as the keeper fed, cleaned, and cared for the elephant. The narrator describes the affection he could see between the elephant keeper and elephant during this time of day, when they thought they were unobserved. He says the feeling between the two was intimate, warm, and trusting. The editor asks if the narrator always liked elephants, and the narrator says in a thoughtful manner that he has always liked them, although he’s not sure why. 

The editor asks for more details, such as the day, the time, and the surroundings. The narrator says it was May 17 at 7 p.m. The sun was setting but the elephant house was lit up inside. The editor asks what happened next. The narrator nervously continues his story, saying that the two were doing their usual routine when it suddenly seemed like the balance was off between them. He says that they seemed to be closer to the same size than before. The editor asks if he means the elephant was shrinking. The narrator confirms that either the elephant shrank, or the keeper grew. She asks if he told the police, and he says no because he knew they would have thought him a liar or suspicious. She asks if he's sure he saw things correctly, and he responds that he probably did, based on how closely he was watching them. The narrator reminisces that even at the time of him witnessing this event, he was in disbelief. The elephant really did appear to be much smaller. The narrator describes his feeling that time seemed to be flowing strangely through the elephant house and that the elephant and the keeper were glad to enter this flow of time. Then the lights went out. It was 7:30 and the narrator could see no more. The next day, the elephant vanished. The editor asks if this means he thinks that the shrinking elephant slipped through the bars or kept growing smaller until it disappeared from existence. The narrator says he doesn’t know.

The conversation between the two dies, and things become awkward. The narrator regrets bringing up the topic of the elephant. The editor tries to restart the conversation by talking about a cat that went missing when she was young, but when the two part half an hour later, it’s the last they see of each other. They talk once over the phone about work. The narrator thinks about asking her to dinner but decides against it. He says it doesn’t matter either way. He remarks that ever since the elephant vanished, he’s felt like he can’t make up his mind to do anything as he’s not sure what the outcome will be. He says that something inside him is broken and off-balance, and that the things around him seem off-balance, too. He still sells appliances and says that the more pragmatic he is, the more appliances he sells. He attributes this to the fact that people look for unity in life. As for the mystery of the vanishing elephant, the people of the town have almost completely forgotten about it. The elephant house remains cold and empty, and the elephant and his keeper are gone for good.

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