My Friend the Elephant 101 



could see that the big fellow was very much pleased 

 at the outcome of his introduction. I felt the deli- 

 cate tissues of the trunk of my new acquaintance 

 wandering about my hand, while the eyes of its owner 

 watched me most intently. And so my circle of 

 friends was increased by one more. 



But the time drew near when I was to return to 

 America, and the day before sailing I visited the 

 4 Zoo ' to bid my two huge friends good-bye. I 

 tried to make them understand that I was taking 

 leave of them, and it was pleasant to me to think 

 they understood and regretted my departure. 



More than two years passed ; and while I had 

 not forgotten the strange acquaintances I had made 

 in London, I must confess that thoughts of them 

 very rarely entered my mind. I knew that elephants 

 were very long-lived creatures, and when I thought 

 of them at all I fancied them as alive and well, and 

 attending to the very satisfactory duties in which I 

 had last seen them engaged. But I heard nothing 

 of them. One day in looking over the paper I saw 

 the announcement that Mr. P. T. Barnum had 

 arranged to bring ' the largest elephant in the world ' 



