i 4 o DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



tie elephants were about as tall as an ordinary 

 table, but they were strong and 



HAD WILLS OF THEIR OWN. 



Both of them exhibited the keenest curosity and 

 insisted upon looking over my shoulder while I 

 was working. I suppose very few of my readers 

 are art students, but such of them who paint and 

 draw from live objects will at once see the impos- 

 sibility of making a sketch with one's models look- 

 ing over one's shoulder. I tried to push the baby 

 elephants away, but they did not or would not un- 

 derstand. Then I got down on my knees, and 

 pushing with all my strength succeeded in placing 

 one of the little brutes in position; this made the 

 other one very jealous and it crowded my chosen 

 model out of position so I took my drawing pad 

 and 



SLAPPED THE DEFIANT ELEPHANT 



over the head, driving it to a position behind my 

 chair, to the great delight of the other baby, who 

 now seemed to understand what was expected of 

 it and proudly held its pose. I sketched hastily, 

 as one must when dealing with such models, sup- 

 plementing my drawing with written pencil notes, 

 and just as I became absorbed in my work 



THE BAD LITTLE ELEPHANT 



behind me slyly curled its funny little trunk around 

 the leg of my chair and then with a quick pull re- 

 moved the chair, leaving me sprawling on my back 



