CHAPTER VIII 
VICIOUS ELEPHANTS AND A CANTANKEROUS BUFFALO 
An elephant seldom makes an unprovoked attack 
on a human being, but I should like to give two out 
of several instances of such attacks that have 
occurred to my own knowledge. 
Once, when we were in the neighbourhood of the 
Lukumbuli stream, one of my men, Njerembo by 
name, fell in love with a handsome, flashing-eyed 
beauty, called Asalie, and his affection being recipro¬ 
cated, preparations were set on foot for their 
wedding, but, alas, fate had decreed that no such 
happy event was to take place! A few days before 
the wedding, the girl and her parents made a 
journey to a neighbouring village to buy some fowls 
for the wedding feast, and one can imagine Asalie 
setting out on this auspicious occasion with all the 
suppressed excitement that a maid must feel at the 
approach of such a momentous event in her life. 
Probably, to this child of nature, with emotions un¬ 
spoilt by any of the trammelling influences of 
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