234 IN THE INDIAN JUNGLE. 



and wept yes, wept, Sahib ; we saw the tears in 

 its eyes ; elephants cry. Ask any mahout ; he will 

 tell you. It is true words I am telling you. When 

 my aunt saw her husband's dead body, she took 

 up her infant son and threw it before the elephant 

 and cried, ' Oh, wretch ! you have taken the life 

 of my life, now take that of my son also. You have 

 eaten of our best and have had more attention than 

 even I had from him whose life you have taken. 

 Here is his son ; kill him, I say, kill him ! ' That 

 elephant was ashamed and cried and fondled the 

 little one, and none dared take him from the brute 

 but my aunt. Then it was told to Sanderson Sahib 

 and he made the baby mahout in my uncle's place, 

 and my aunt had charge of the elephant till the boy 

 grew. Whenever my aunt went to the bazaar or 

 was engaged cooking or about her household duties, 

 she would make over her baby to the elephant to 

 look after, and it was strange to watch how that 

 great animal would fondle it with its trunk and whisk 

 the flies off it and pull it out of the sun ; and when 

 he began to crawl it was fun to see the elephant 

 take him by his leg and prevent him crawling away. 

 None dared take the baby from the elephant but 

 my aunt, and if the little one was not brought to it 

 in the morning it would become restless and excited 

 and would try to break its chain, and could only be 

 appeased by the little fellow's presence. When 

 my cousin grew old enough to run about and talk, 

 the way he bullied that elephant was astonishing. 

 He would get under its belly and prick it with 

 thorns, he would pinch its trunk, he would remove 



