A senator inadvertently broke a glass elephant belonging to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) after throwing a “talking stick” during bipartisan shutdown talks in her office, according to multiple reports.

Another senator present at the meeting told CNN that Collins presented the stick to the group to prevent interruptions during negotiations. Only the lawmaker holding the stick would be allowed to talk.

The senator told CNN that another lawmaker, who went unnamed in the report, was speaking with the stick when  a colleague interrupted. The lawmaker then “forcefully delivered” the stick across the room in response. The stick chipped the glass elephant, which was sitting on a shelf.

Politico reported that the senator in question was Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who was tossing the stick to Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

{mosads}After the stick-throwing incident, Collins replaced the stick with a small rubber basketball that another senator had jokingly brought, according to the reports. The incident was treated good-humoredly and all the senators laughed about it, CNN reported.

The senators were meeting to discuss passing a stopgap spending bill to fund the government for another three weeks and end the three-day shutdown. The Senate voted Monday afternoon to pass the bill.

Updated: 5:27 p.m.