The Elephant That Forgot

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21990, 14 January 1937, Page 7 (Supplement)

The Elephant That Forgot

An elephant never forgets—l expect you have heard that a good many times. Personally, I don’t know whether it is right or wrong; all I know is that Olejoe, the fattest, laziest, most good-natured elephant in Cranston’s Circus, did not live up to this reputation. He was always forgetting something or another. When it came to his tricks, he used to go through them .with the best will in the world, but then, at some vital point, he would ■forget what he had to do next—and that would be the end of that trick. But he was such a sweettempered old beast —and some elephants can.be as temperamental as film stars—that his trainer, little old Pete Blossom, hadn’t the heart to' be too severe with him. Poor old Olejoe’s memory grew so erratic that eventually Pete Blossom stuck a silly little hat on Olejoe’s -. massive cranium and called him the clown of his troupe. You know, up to a point, animals can converse. Of course, they don’t use language, but they have some mysterious method of communication among themselves. For example, an elephant can “talk” (I’ll use - that word in dealing with the mysterious communication among animals) to another elephant and one dog can talk to another dog, but an elephant can’t talk with or understand a dog, and similarly a dog can’t talk with or understand an elephant. But that doesn’t prevent one animal talking to or, rather, at another animal, and it didn’t prevent Boomer, this Boxing Kangaroo, from giving Olejoe cheek in kangaroo talk. Which, fortunately for Boomer, Olejoe didn’t understand. Boomer was inclined to be a bit conceited on account of his boxing prowess. Well, Cranston’s Circus had just arrived at a new pitch. The elephants had done their work—they were used for any hauling and heavy lifting jobs—the big tents were up, and Pete Blossom was putting his troupe through some of their tricks. Pete spoke to his big pets just as if they were human beings, able to understand him, and he was wont to give point to his instructions and commands by means of a goad, an ornamented wooden stick with a spike' and a hook on it, rather like half an anchor. Pete was concentrating on one special trick. Olejoe and another elephant, a lady elephant known affectionately as Maudie, stood, lacing each other across a circular, sloping-®ded box or platform, like a tub turned upside down. Pete stood on this gaily-painted platform and gave orders. “Now Maudie, you know all about this and I don’t have to worry about you. And as for you, Olejoe, you know it, too,—if you’re not such a chump as to go and forget, something . Now, hup! . . . hup!” He tapped Olejoe’s fore-legs as he said “Hup!” and the two elephants rose up on their hind-legs. “Good!” said Pete, and tapping Olejoe’s trunk with the goad, “Now, swing!” Olejoe and Maudie stretched out their trunks, looping the sensitive ends round each other, thus forming a swing seat on which Pete sat. The platform was there, of course, to raise him to the right height for this performance. “That’s fine!” said Pete, and had a little swing. This trick was rather a strain for Such great heavy animals but, although they showed something of this strain, you could see they

(By Norman Borrow)

were pleased at their own cleverness as well, “Right!” said Pete. “Now, down!” This time, Pete, having to hang oh to his swing with both hands, was unable to use the goad, and, besides, Olejoe’s hind legs were much too far away. After a, moment of hesitation and careful balancing, Maudie bent her hind legs and sat down, still with her forelegs in the air,. And Olejoe—well, he had a moment of hesitation also; you could see him trying ■, to remember what he had to, do next, the skin oh his .broad, sloping forehead wrinkled,, his little eyes -grew troubled and he blinked rapidly. But—he forgot, and instead of sitting down he let go of Maudie’s trunk. . The swing fell apart and Pete Blossom landed on the platform with a thud. - Pete picked himself up and said something under his breath. Then: “Omigosh! Oh, Olejoe, you are a great big blundering, blithering,

bone-headed idiot! Forgetting a simple little trick like that . . . An elephant never . forgets ; huh! Haven’t you got any. memory at all?”' And a lot more in the same strain. Poor old- Olejoe _ flapped his ears and swayed on his fore-feet, now on the ground once more, and did everything to show that he was sorry and that he would remember next time. Good-humoured little Pete Blossom climbed back on to the platform, took hold of the two trunks and said encouragingly, “Now, come on, fathead! Try it again. Just do what Maudie does and you’ll be right. But, for Heaven’s sake, don’t let me down again; this platform’s getting a bit wonky—l nearly' went clean through that time ... Hup!” So up they went again, and this time Olejoe did remember, and the trick was performed successfully. Just as they had , finished, and Pete was giving them one or two affectionate, but resounding slaps, along came Mr Cranston, looking very worried. Mr Cranston had a pet magpie that followed him about wherever he went, and the magpie was hopping along after him now. xßehind him came Boomer, the. Bo-

ing Kangaroo. Mr Cranston sgoke to Pete Blossom, while the magpie hopped about their ankles, and Boomer went up to Maudie and* Olejoe and the other two elephants, sat down on his long, thick tail, and commenced to eat an apple that he held between his. two short forepaws. Boomer was very fond of apples. He began to tease the stolid Olejoe. ' “Call yourself a performing elephant,” he. jeered. “Why,; you couldn’t. push a car unless: Pete Blossom went behind you. with the goad. And what a memory! What a brain! You’d forget your own trunk if it wasn’t tacked on!” ' Ole joe’s trunk swayed like a slow pendulum as he shifted from one foot to another in the way that all elephants do. . “What’s that overgrown rabbit saying?” he asked Maudie. “I don’t know,” said. Maudie. “I don’t understand kangaroo talk—l wouldn’t lower . myself to try to understand it,” she added with feminine logic. “But I expect it’s something nasty.” “Somebody,” rumbled Olejoe, “ought to put' that foreshortened insect in his place.. - He’s always

sitting about on that absurd tail, eating apples, and getting m the ■way. One of us will tread on him one of these days and .that’ll be the end of him.” ’ * Boomer took another bite of apple. “Of all the doddering old hulks —” he began with his mouth full. Ole joe’s lazily 1 swaying trunk suddenly shot round with the speed of a striking snake andrrippe r the apple from between Boomer’s tiny fore-paws. It went 'to his mouth, and the apple went down the elephant’s capacious throat like a pill. Boomer jumped up and down in a rage, and then went tearing round the ground in long hops to relieve his feelings. Meanwhile Mr Cranston was speaking very seriously- to Pete Blossom. The circus owner had apparently lost a watch. “Are you sure you didn’t leave it behind at the last pitch?” asked Pete. “No, it was in my car this morning. But I forgot to put ,it in my pocket when I went to breakfast, and when 1 went back to the car it was gone. Now, I’m not accusing anybody, but there’s only one way that watch could have disap-

fyisw« ; peaifed. It’s been taken by body,. I’ve known you a long lime,- **• Pete, . .and I,.can trust you, , and** ’ 1 you’re coming with me round an.'h.. the living-cars. We’re going to - - make a. search for that watch. I . want if back/ and if I don’t get it , back, there’s ®»ng* to be' Pete Blossom didn’t like the .ideai at ,all, but Mr Cranston made, him 7 go with him,-and they searched all-V: ‘ the livihg-cars and other places, but without finding the.- -■. watch. MrCranstoh questioned.au _ the circus people and even forced '• them to let themselves be searched, ; but still the watch was missing.By; the time the afternoon’s per- ..yT formance was' about to begin, me ; ;‘{ ,j i circus was a very unhappy, place, j and Mr Cranston was threatening * •his employees with the -police and •;.< .wholesale dismissals. / Strange to say, Olejoe • remem- ' . befed his tricks during that per- ■■ formance, and Pete was so pleased -.r. ■■ with him that he gave him an extra large helping of buns. I don t know .why it is that elephants, so fond of buns; they can’t pos-” sibly taste them, they don’t eat ■> them, they simply shoot them c down like pills. • , But when it came to the even- ' ing performance, and the watch was . still missing, the elephants could . see that something was * , wrong and that Pete was upset >■ about it, and it apparently affected-’ Ole joe’s .treacherous memory. He -;. and Maudie had a little chat while-, they'were waiting to go into the.-., ring. . And Olejoe’s forehead wrinkled up again, and his pars flapped un* easily. Then Pete came up and led..; ; them into the ring. ■ . Well, the time came for Olejoe ß and Maudie’s big trick. They took -■, up. £heir places facing each other -‘jJ across the platform, and PeUi •" dressed up and with his face darkened to represent a Hindu,' - jumped up on to the platform. -* ■ “Hup!” said Pete, using the goad, • 1 and up they went. •'' i. “Swing!” said Pete, and they; looped trunks and gave him > swing. The grown-ups in the audience” - applauded, the children cheered. Pete smiled at them.,---Then the smile left his face and*, he gazed meaningly at Olejoe. ■ ~ And Olejoe forgot. He forgot . again. Maudie sat down, but Ole- ■ joe let go with his trunk, and Pete fell down on to the platform with * ■ a crash. A terrible thing hap- ‘* 1 pened, a thing really disastrous to the trick./ The platform was very -- old and going rotten, the top had • been weakened by these falls oi Pete, and this time it gave way - and Pete fell right through it. *. Olejoe was horror-stricken. fore-feet landed on the ground with a thud, his ears flapped and . eyes blinked very quickly inaeeoi .. . and he looked fearfully sorry to himself. Pete picked himself with his head sticking out through the ragged hole, and what he ,wa» ingoing to say to Olejoe,, I u'.-? imagine. The grown-ups - and laughed, ..the children, cheere . .and clapped and clapped ■ called out for Olejoe to do it And then Pete disappeared flrom ■ - view, and when he stood up , he also was seen to be laugnteS - t and in his hand was Mr Cranston , t watch. , .. How did the watch get there- . j Well, it was realised afterwaros, that it must have been taken nj.,- | Mr Cranston’s pet magpie, had a little-habit of seizing thing bright and shining and -,: v ing it away and hiding it. Ano the bottom of the platfonn mJ® •■■■ J .; was a hole through which the n} a »._ ■_> pie had thrust the watch. % And I believe that « hadn’t been an elephant that : got, that watch would be t»e ■ stilL - ,