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Updated: June 29, 2025
In an elephant that is a sign that he is defiant or determined, just like a man who folds his arms tight across his chest. Mukna was unrepentant. The messenger reached the palace and reported Mukna's disobedience; and the elephant master said that he would come that afternoon to punish Mukna. The reigning prince said that he also would come.
Now among the bull elephants forming the ring around Mukna was one who had huge tusks. So the elephant master ordered him to give Mukna the twenty blows. Of course the elephant could not count the number of blows he was to give. So the elephant master was to count for him, and tell him when to stop.
The side of his head hit the ground, and he rolled over. "Is it enough at last?" the elephant master asked. He waited. Three times Mukna tried to raise his head in defiance, even as he lay on the ground; and three times he tried to curl up his trunk. His head went half-way up, and his trunk curled half-way.
"I won't give in, even if I die!" he seemed to say, though he was rocking unsteadily in growing weakness. "Then we shall break your obstinate spirit!" the elephant master cried. So Mukna received the next blow, which was the fifteenth. He fell. But after a while he rose again in defiance, and received the sixteenth blow. Then he fell in a heap.
The prince asked three other young princes, his cousins, to come with him. A young American was then staying in the palace as a guest, and he also was invited to come. That afternoon the royal party went with the elephant master to the place where the elephants were; there were about thirty bulls, besides Mukna.
When the trial began, Mukna's keeper first gave evidence; that is, he said that Mukna had disobeyed his order, not only once, but three times. Then several other keepers came forward as witnesses, and gave evidence; that is, they said that they saw Mukna disobey the order. Then the man who was appointed to defend Mukna spoke for him; he was called the elephant counsel.
But in spite of all the kindness Mukna received, his temper grew worse and worse. He was punished for that, though very lightly; he was merely deprived of delicacies in his food. Elephants in the service of men usually get hay, grass, and leaves to eat; but on special days they get sugar cane, bananas, and a kind of pancake, all of which are great delicacies to an elephant.
The elephant counsel argued that Mukna must have been ill-treated to make him disobedient. So he questioned all the keepers. But all the keepers said that Mukna had not been ill-treated to make him disobedient. "He may not have been ill-treated just that minute," the elephant counsel still argued. "But was he not ill-treated before?
Sometimes in the wild West of America in the past, men who had committed crimes would escape from the sheriff into the wilds and become outlaws. Mukna wanted to do just that. So he turned toward the trees on the side of the open space, to run away into the jungle. But a most wonderful thing had happened.
It seemed that in a few more strides Mukna would hurl himself upon them, and there was nobody to stop him. But yes there was! For meanwhile, just as the elephant master had heard the trumpet Mukna had given, all the thirty bull elephants had also heard it. Most of them were too far off, near the line of trees; but there happened to be a bull a little nearer the middle of the open space.
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