My Queer Pets.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21036, 21 November 1931, Page 4 (Supplement)

My Queer Pets.

By PHILIP ROSS,

Have any of you ever taken an elephant io bod with him ? I have! with dire results to tho bod. Many years ago, when I was a small boy, I lived in the N'Kose district of Natal, in South Africa. Tho nearest villago was 60 miles away from oul' farm, and as motor-cars had not then been invented it used to tako two days on horseback to get to tho township. So when wo needed fresh meat, instead of buying it at the butchers my dad used to send his native hunters out on tho veld to shoot tho game for our use. Ono just as I was getting ready to go to bed, one of these black hunters carno running up to the house. "Inkozane, Inkozane" (littlo chief), shouted. " Indaba fuis wene " (what do you want?). I asked him, "Oh, Inkozane, wo have shot an elephant in the forest and there is a baby one." "What?" I shouted. " A live baby elephant! Where is he?" " Down at tho kraal, lcplicd the hunter." " Oh, mummy, mummy, I yelled, tho hunters have brought mo a baby elephant and I am going to take him to bed with me." " \ou can t take an elephant to bed with you," said mummy. " Can't I," I replied. ' Ini going to have a jolly good try, anyhow. Then turning to Toto, the hunter, I ordered him to bring the little elephant up to tho house. Presently, with shouts and yells, tho black hunters returned, driving in front of them a tiny elephant. The poor little thing was only about a week old, and was uttering littlo squeaky cries. "Oh, the poor thing is hungry." said mummy. So dad got a basin of milk and warmed it up and put a glass of brandy into it and gave it to the elephant. Jumbo swallowed it at one gulp, and in a few minutes he was prancing and staggering all over the place. The brandy had gone to his head and made him tipsy. When he had sobered up a bit I climbed into bed and told the hunters to pick Jumbo up and put him in my bed. Two of them lifted the little chap up and put him on my bed, and the bed broke. Jumbo's weight was too much for the stretcher to stand, and both he and I were mixed up on the floor. Jumbo grew very quickly, and got to know us all quite well. He and I were firm friends. When the breakfast bell rang every morning, old Jumbo would come trotting up for his share. Sometimes just to tease him I would pretend not to see him. This made him angry, and he used to tap his trunk on tho stoep to attract our attention. If we still ignored him he would put his tail end against the wall of the house and bump it until the whole house shook, and we were forced to give him his food. When he. grew too big to keep on the farm, dad gave him to the Durban Zoo, and I expect he is there still. Another pet I had in those days was a frog. His name was Peter, and he used to come when I whistled for him. Mummy did not like him at all, because he used to climb up the curtains and sit on the rod, and then when he saw anything on the table beneath that pleased him he would dive down on to it. One day Peter dived on to mother's head. Another time he dived off the curtain rod right into the soup. There was soup and frog all over the place.' I picked him out and wiped him with tho napkin, but after that mummy made me keep him outside the house. Just now I have a very nice little pet. He is a white rat, and his name is also Peter. He has a little cage for himself to sleep in, but it is seldom that he stops there. Nearly every morning when I wake up I find Peter sitting on my pillow. He is very fond of sitting on my shoulder when I go out for a walk. Somehow or other a piece of raw onion got in his dinner the other day. Peter chewed a bit of it and then turned three summersaults, the tears ran out of his eyesj and he squeaked with rage. When I tried to cnlm him he bit my finger, just to show nie that he thought it a mean "trick to play on a self-respecting rat.