STONEBORO

An elephant's mouthful of spit and slime did not douse Erica Farrand's love of the world's largest land animal.

"I got slime all over my face," gushed the 6-year-old Hermitage girl after her close, wet encounter with Cora, a 9,000-pound Asian elephant, Sunday at the Great Stoneboro Fair.

"Elephants are my favorite," Erica said.

Erica was plucked from a crowd of fair-goers to hold up a trumpet for 46-year-old Cora to blow on and she also fed her a cookie. Cora "slimed" Erica after tooting on the horn.

Cora and Shannon, a 22-year-old African elephant half Cora's size, are the featured performers of "Elephant Encounters," a show staged by owners Bill and Cindy Morris.

The elephants performed three times Sunday and are slated to put on three more shows today at the fair -- at 2, 4 and 6 p.m.

"It is the mission of this program to change the way people think and feel about these magnificent creatures forever," said Bill Morris.

The Morris' have owned Cora and Shannon for almost all of the elephants' lives, and they said the elephants look upon their owners as members of their family or herd.

"Through love, trust and respect you can build a unique and remarkable bond with elephants," Bill Morris said.

Bill Morris is a third-generation elephant owner -- his father owned 19 of them, and his grandfather owned seven.

Brianne Lenhart, 9, of Saegertown said her favorite part of the show was watching the elephants lie down in the ring. "They don't do that in the wild," Brianne said.

Wild elephants sleep an average of only three hours a day and they do that standing up, Bill Morris said during the show.

Brianne's mother, Irene, said the educational aspect of the show is what she liked best.

After each show, those on hand had an opportunity to climb on an elephant's back and ride around the show ring.

Ryan Brozovich, 6, of Greenville, was stoked after his ride. "It was fun," he said. "I just wish my dad was here."

Ryan's mother took photos of the ride to send to his father, a soldier in the Army who was recently sent to Belgium.