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"No, it was not this one, but it was one like it," said the elephant. "I came here about a year ago." "I remember that time," said Snarlie. "I liked you as soon as I saw you, Umboo." "So did I," spoke Woo-Uff, the lion, stretching out his big paws. "Let us hear the rest of Umboo's story," suggested Chako, the monkey. "Did you like the circus?" "Indeed I did, very much," Umboo answered.
"I thought we were to listen to Umboo's story." "That's right we were," said Snarlie. "I'm sorry I talked so much. But I was telling Chako about the books we are in, Woo-Uff." "Yes, books are all well enough," said the lion, "but give me a good piece of meat. Now go on, Umboo. What was it Chako asked?"
Stumptail, which was the name of Umboo's mother. "They are going to march to another part of the jungle, and your father and I will march with them, as we do not want to be left behind. There is not much more left here to eat. We have taken all the palm nuts and leaves from the trees. We have only been waiting until you grew strong enough to march."
And when the man loosed the ropes, and let Umboo's front legs down, after they had hoisted them up once, he suddenly gave a little spring, and up he went, standing on his hind legs all by himself, and almost as good as the trick beast could do it. "Well, I declare!" cried one of the men. "That elephant is the smartest one we ever trained. He does the trick after being shown just once!"
They did not stop when trees and bushes got in their way, but broke them down, and stepped on them. A rush of elephants through the jungle to get away from danger is almost as hard to stop as a runaway locomotive and train of cars. "Can you keep up with us?" asked Umboo's mother of him as he trotted along beside her. "Are we going too fast for you?" "Oh, no.
"I want to get to some place where I can have palm nuts to eat. I am hungry. Let's go on!" "Be quiet!" called Umboo's father to this elephant. "Don't you see that Tusker is trying to think, and find the best way out of danger for us. Wait a bit." So the elephants waited, and finally Tusker with a shake of his big ears, said: "I never knew anything like this before.
And maybe Umboo's jungle story will go in a book, as mine did." "Is yours in a book?" asked Humpo, the camel. "It is," answered Snarlie, and he did not speak at all proudly as some tigers might. "My story is in a book, and there are pictures of me, and also Toto, the little Indian princess. For I came from India, just as Umboo did." "Now who is talking?" asked Woo-Uff, the lion.
Very softly the elephant reached put his trunk and took it. Then Umboo flourished the piece of white linen in the air, as the man had done, and pretended to use it, though Umboo's face was much larger than the man's, and really needed no handkerchief. The man turned around, as he heard his friends laughing, and when he saw what Umboo had done the man smiled and said: "Ha!
"I wanted to know if Umboo's mother let him fall when she lifted him high up in her trunk when they came to the jungle river," said the monkey in the circus cage. "No," answered Umboo, "she did not drop me. My mother was very strong, and her trunk had a good hold of me. She didn't drop me at all." "Then what did she lift you up for?" asked Chako.
"It's all right, my elephant friend!" said the man from India. "Up! Up! Stand up! Stand on your hind legs, Umboo!" And Umboo had to do this whether he wanted to or not. The rope, on which the men were pulling, and which was fast to a hook in the ceiling of the barn over head, was lifting Umboo's front feet from the ground.
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