THE GREAT THICK-SKINNED ANIMALS 
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that the elephant, large and heavy though he is, can yet move over 
the ground, and even through the thick forest, with so silent a tread 
that you would be quite unable to hear his footfall, even though you 
might be standing close beside him. Indeed, hunters who have shot 
many an elephant tell us that the only way in which one can hear 
the animal moving is by listening for the sound caused by the water 
ELEPHANTS DRINKING BY MOONLIGHT 
contained in his stomach, which makes a peculiar “swishing” sound 
as he walks along. 
Now, how is this? Here is an immense animal, standing eleven 
or twelve feet in height, and weighing two or three tons, and yet 
walking with the silent and stealthy tread of a cat! Are his feet 
furnished with soft cushions upon the soles, like those of the lion or 
the tiger? Yes and no, their structure being, however, perfectly 
different, and yet equally wonderful. 
