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Wonders of the Jungle

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<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> <h2>The Elephants' Bath</h2> I have just told you that, after drinking, the elephants jump into the water and have a bath and a swim. That is, all the grown-up elephants do that, while the little ones stay on the bank and play about. But, you may ask, why does not the tiger try to grab one of the little ones then? Because even when the Mammas go into the water they keep their eyes on the babies, who play quite near by, so that the Mammas can come to them any minute. And the Mammas can smell a tiger a little before he gets there, so that they have enough time to climb out of the water. Besides, the babies themselves can smell the tiger when he is coming; then they call out to their Mammas by making a queer rumbling sound in their throats, and the Mammas come to them at once, before the tiger can get there. So all the grown-up elephants can go into the[24] water, without any worry. And at first they have a regular shower bath. How do they do that? Why, each elephant fills his trunk with water; then he curls up the trunk in the air over his head and squirts the water out, and it falls in a shower all over his body. You can see how he does it in the picture. All the grown-up elephants do that, and even those that are half grown. After the shower bath, they swim about; but the Mamma elephants do not do that. Why? Because they have to get busy and bathe their little children. They call to the children to stop playing, and come and have a bath—just as our Mammas do. How do they call? Why, I must tell you at once that all kinds of animals have a language of their own. They do not speak exactly as we do, but make different sounds through their mouth or nose, and each sound means something. If the Mamma elephant wants to say "Come here," she makes one kind of sound, and the baby elephant has learned to know exactly what that means. And if the Mamma elephant wants to say "Keep still," she makes another kind of sound, and the baby knows also what that means.[25] <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/image_035.jpg" width-obs="500" height-obs="787" alt="An Elephant Giving himself a Shower Bath" title="" /> An Elephant Giving himself a Shower Bath</div> [27] In this way all animals can talk among themselves. Of course they cannot say many things, as we do, but quite enough to tell what they want. So each Mamma elephant calls to her child to come and stand on the bank. Now, many of our children often hate to be bathed; and the elephant children are just the same! In fact, the very small ones actually cry and shriek, just like our babies! <h3>Elephant Child Obeys Mamma—or Gets Spanked</h3> But when the Mamma elephant calls to the baby to stop playing and come and stand by the bank, the baby comes at once, even though it hates to be bathed. The baby elephant obeys its Mamma almost the first time, whatever she tells it to do. But if the baby does not obey, does its Mamma spank it? Of course she does—like all Mammas! The elephant Mamma does the spanking with her trunk. But I must tell you at once that an elephant child never gets spanked more than once in its life—and that is enough! And some are so good that they never get spanked![28] The elephant child learns very quickly to obey its Mamma and Papa, and afterwards its trainer or teacher. The elephant child even obeys the very minute it is told to do anything; in fact, sometimes in the jungle there is a sudden danger, even if the elephant child does not see the danger. But its Mamma or Papa sees it. Then the Mamma or Papa calls out to the child to stop, or come away, or do something, at once; and if the child does not do it at once, it may get killed. Among men folks, if a child runs out into the street, and an auto or a street car comes suddenly, then if the child will not obey its Mamma at once and do exactly as she says, the child may be run over and killed. In the jungle the elephant child also has sudden dangers like that, though in a different way. In the next chapter I shall tell you a wonderful story about a boy elephant who escaped a great danger because he obeyed his Papa at once. But sometimes it happens that a boy elephant is really naughty—just like a bad boy among men. As you know, a bad boy among men usually grows up to be a bad man, and then he gets into a lot of trouble. In the[29] elephant herd it is just the same; a bad little elephant grows up to be a bad big elephant; it is then called a rogue. In another book I shall tell you how the President of the herd orders all the police elephants to stand in a ring around the rogue and give him a most awful spanking. And they do that, not with their trunks this time, but with their tusks—which hurt most dreadfully. <h3>How the Elephant Child is Bathed</h3> But now I shall tell you about the baby elephant when its Mamma calls it to come and be bathed. It comes to the edge of the bank, and stands facing its Mamma. Then the Mamma fills her trunk with water, brings the trunk quite near the baby, and squirts the water all over it. The baby may howl and jump about and make faces, but it never runs away! Again and again the Mamma squirts the water, till all the mud and dust of the jungle is washed away from the baby's body. Then she tells the baby to play about on the bank again, while she attends to the bigger children. What has she got to do to them? She must teach them to swim![30] Of course all animals with four legs know how to swim naturally; their bodies float in the water quite easily, and they have only to work their legs to move along in the water. But with elephants it is a little different. Why? Just think! I shall tell you. Although they can float quite naturally, their noses point downward right into the water. As I said before, the elephant's trunk is its nose—that is, the elephant has to breathe through the trunk. So of course, if in trying to swim a little elephant kept its trunk down in the water, it would not be able to breathe at all, and would die. That is why the Mamma elephant has to teach her child how to swim properly. And the way she does it is quite wonderful. I must first tell you that the trunk is not only like a nose to the elephant, but also is useful as a hand; the elephant can hold a lot of things with it, and can even pick up with its tip a tiny thing as small as a pin. <h3>How the Elephant Child Learns to Swim</h3> So the Mamma elephant stretches out her trunk before her, just like an arm, and tells her child to lie across it. In that way she holds up[31] the child in the water, so that the little elephant has only to think of curling up the tip of its own little trunk out of the water to breathe. Then she tells her child to kick out with its legs, so as to move forward through the water. But sometimes, in kicking out, the little elephant forgets to hold up the tip of its trunk out of the water at the same time; then down goes its trunk into the water, and it cannot breathe! Then what happens? The Mamma elephant can do nothing, as she is already using her own trunk to hold up her child. So, what is to be done? Really, the elephants are so wise that they take no chances of that happening. The Papa elephant takes care of that. When he sees that the Mamma is teaching the little elephant how to swim, he always comes near them. He may be swimming about, as if he were enjoying himself; but he is really watching them all the time. And if the little elephant forgets to hold up its trunk out of the water, the Papa comes quickly, and with one upward stroke of his own trunk he lifts up the little elephant's trunk clear out of the water. Is not that very wise and thoughtful of the Papa elephant?[32] In that way the little elephant soon learns to do both things—that is, to kick out with its legs so as to move along, and also to hold up its trunk to breathe. And then, of course, it can swim properly. And yet the elephants are so very wise that they never take the risk of tiring out a little elephant, if they have to swim a very long way. Sometimes a whole herd of elephants has to swim across a very wide river. Then the Mamma elephant tells her child to swim in front of her, while she encourages the child from behind with many fond words. But sometimes after swimming halfway across the river— "Mamma, I am getting tired!" cries the little one. "Then come on my back, darling!" says the Mamma. She dives, and comes up right under the little elephant; so now her child sits on her back. In that way she swims along, and carries her child across the wide river, as you see in the picture.[33] <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/image_043.jpg" width-obs="500" height-obs="786" alt="An Elephant Mamma Carrying her Child across the River" title="" /> An Elephant Mamma Carrying her Child across the River</div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> [35] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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