I02 The Life of an Elephant 



along the road, their soft feet making little 

 noise, but raising a cloud of dust which passed 

 away with the breeze. Where .the 

 path led through cultivated fields 

 the travellers stretched out greedy- 

 trunks to seize mouthfuls of young 

 wheat or cane-sugar, until ordered 

 to desist from robbery. When vil- 

 lages were reached and the little 

 naked children rushed out with 

 cries of joy, the elephants went 

 warily ; when the dogs barked, they curled up 

 their trunks in alarm, as if they knew that in this 

 country the chance of hydrophobia following on 

 a bite was no imaginary danger. They regained 

 the open country, carrying the spoils they had 

 looted ; some waving a bush whose yellow 

 flowers had given promise of a heavy crop 

 of lentils, another 

 with a trunkful of 

 grain snatched from 

 the threshing floor ; 

 and Maula Bux, per- 

 haps most successful 



