Finn was only a month into his new job when his coworker, Alice, invited him to a white elephant gift exchange. He had no idea what it was but decided to participate.

In his curiosity, Finn decided to look it up online. Unfortunately for him, he stumbled upon a site that joked about actually bringing an elephant to the exchange.

Finn, taking the joke at face value, was excited and shocked at the prospect of coming up with an actual elephant for the gift exchange.

At his computer, he spent hours researching how to possibly get an elephant. "Who knew there were so many rules around elephant ownership?" He mumbled.

Finn even began contacting zoos to see if they had any surplus elephant they could part with. The responses were confused and negative.

Running into dead-ends, Finn decided to get creative. He found a local sculptor and commissioned a life-sized elephant statue.

The sculpture took weeks to make and cost more than Finn would like to admit. He hoped Alice would find it as amusing as he did.

The day of the white elephant exchange finally arrived. Finn struggled to get his enormous elephant sculpture through the office door.

Alice's eyeballs nearly burst out of her head when she saw Finn's gift. "Is that... an elephant?" She stammered.

"It is!" Finn beamed, unaware that his literal interpretation of a white elephant gift was not the norm.

The elephant statue became the star of the gift exchange, with everyone clamoring over who would take it home.

Throughout the event, Alice kept glancing at Finn, half amused and half bewildered. He mistook her expressions as impressed.

The elephant statue kept getting stolen back and forth during the exchange, much to everyone's amusement, especially Finn's.

As the event concluded, Alice approached Finn. "You know you didn't have to bring an actual elephant, right?" She asked.

Finn was taken aback. "Wait, what?" He stammered, and Alice explained the concept of white elephant exchanges to him.

Realizing his blunder, Finn flushed red with embarrassment as laughter rang out around him. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but join in.

He turned the situation around, laughing at himself and saying, "Well, this is a story for the grandkids! I am the guy who brought an elephant to work."

His jest and humble attitude won the hearts of his coworkers, making his first white elephant exchange a memorable event despite the confusion.

As the night concluded, the elephant ended up in the office lobby, where it became a symbol of Finn's amusingly literal interpretation.

The next day at work, Finn found his desk decorated with tiny elephant figurines. The office banter about his blunder lasted for weeks.

Despite the embarrassing incident, Finn grew to love his new job even more. He was glad that he had made his coworkers smile, even if it was at his expense.

Finn's story became a tale told to every newcomer in the office. They all knew the tale of the "literal elephant in the room."

To this day, the office keeps up the tradition of the white elephant gift exchange. However, they always explained the rules to new participants.

Looking back, Finn couldn't help but laugh at his naivety. However, he would always be remembered for his misadventure at the white elephant gift exchange.

And so, Finn learned the art of making the best out of embarrassing situations. And in doing so, he became a beloved member of his new workplace.