<Dd> A: Hold his trunk shut until he turns blue, and then shoot him with the blue elephant gun . </Dd> <Dd> Q: How do you shoot a purple elephant? </Dd> <Dd> A: Paint him red, hold his trunk shut until he turns blue, and then shoot him with the blue elephant gun . </Dd> <P> The absurdity of the first riddle's answer subverts the audience's initial expectations . The second and third riddles reinforce the expectation for this logically absurd structure . The final riddle concludes by again absurdly subverting the audience's expected framework . The humor for independent elephant jokes relies on absurd answers that ignore expectations, yet have a certain appropriateness . Here the absurdity is compounded when the appropriateness of the final riddle's answer is dependent upon undermining the logically absurd structure built from the preceding riddles . Another example: </P>

How do you fit 4 elephants in a car