Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant His Many Adventures

Excerpt

CHAPTER I

TUM TUM GOES SWIMMING

Tum Tum was a jolly elephant. I shall tell you that much at the start of this story, so you will not have to be guessing as to who Tum Tum was. Tum Tum was the jolliest elephant in the circus, but before that he was the jolliest elephant in the woods or jungle.

In fact, Tum Tum was nearly always happy and jolly, and, though he had many troubles, in all the adventures that happened to him, still, he always tried to be good-natured over them.

So I am going to tell you all about Tum Tum, and the wonderful things that happened to him.

Once upon a time Tum Tum was a baby elephant, and lived away off in a far country called India, with many other elephants, little and big, in the jungle.

The jungle is just another name for woods, or forest, only the jungle is a very thick woods. The trees grow big and strong, and between them grow strong vines so that it is hard for any living creature except an elephant, or maybe a snake to push his way along. A snake can crawl on the ground under the vines, you know.

Well, Tum Tum lived in this jungle, and with him lived his father and mother. His father was a great big elephant, named Tusky, and he was called this because he had two big, long, white teeth, called tusks, sticking out on either side of his long trunk, which was like a fat rubber hose.

Tum Tum's mother was named Mrs. Tusky, but she did not have any long teeth like her husband. Perhaps she had had some once, and had lost them, breaking down a big tree, or something like that.

Tum Tum had no brothers or sisters, but there were other little boy and girl elephants in the herd, or family of elephants, where he lived, and, altogether, he had a good time in the jungle, Tum Tum did.

One day Tum Tum, who had been eating his dinner of leaves, with his father and mother, heard a loud trumpeting in the woods back of where he was standing. Trumpeting is the noise an elephant makes when he blows through his long trunk, or nose. It is his way of speaking to another elephant.

"Who's that calling?" asked Mrs. Tusky, of her husband.

"Oh, it sounds like some of the little boy elephants," said the old papa elephant, as he pulled up a tree by the roots, so he could the more easily take a bite from the tender top leaves.

"I hope it doesn't mean any danger for us," said Mrs. Tusky, looking at Tum Tum, who was busy finishing his dinner.

Elephants, you know, no matter if they are big, are just as much afraid of danger as are other wild animals. Of course they are not so much afraid of the other beasts in the jungles, for the elephant can fight almost anything, even a lion or a tiger.

But an elephant is afraid of the black men, or natives, who live in the jungle, and an elephant is also afraid of the white hunters, who come into the big forest from time to time.

"I hope no hunters are about, to make one of our elephant friends trumpet that way," said Mrs. Tusky, speaking in a way elephants have.

"Oh, no, don't be afraid," said her husband, eating away at his tree leaves. "There is no danger." But, as he said this, he put up his long trunk-nose, and carefully sniffed the air. That is the way animals have of telling if danger is near. They do it by smelling as well as by listening and seeing. Only one cannot see very far in the jungle, as the trees are so thick.

Mr. Tusky also lifted up his big ears, about as large as ten palm-leaf fans, and listened for any sounds of danger. All he heard was the crashing of tree branches and bushes, as some of the other elephants, farther off in the jungle, pushed their way about eating their dinners.

Then, suddenly, some elephant called, trumpeting through his trunk:

"Tum Tum! Hello, Tum Tum! Can't you come out and play?"

"Oh, it's some of your little elephant friends," said Mr....