Mr. Jumbe’s Dinner.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIII, Issue XVIII, 29 October 1904, Page 61

Mr. Jumbe’s Dinner.

To look at an elephant, you would not think that he only eats grass, fruit, leaves, twigs, etc., for he looks as if he could swallow you at one mouthful quite easily. But elephants never eat human beings like lions and tigers, for they are very kind animals, and don’t even hurt people unless they frighten or tease them.

Mr Elephant is so big and heavy that he very rarely runs, but just walks or

shuffles along, sometimes at the rate of about fifteen or twenty miles an hour, which is as fast as the average motor. So you wouldn’t have much chance if he ran a race with you. He is terrifically strong, and thinks nothing of tearing up big trees with his ivory tusks, and picking off the branches as you would a flower. In India and Africa the natives use the elephants instead of horses for pulling heavy things along, like timber, gun carriages, etc.

They live to be very old. and often attain to the age of 130 or 150 years; so you set* an elephant is only a little baby at ten years old! There was once a very intelligent elephant called Joe. who could draw a cork from a bottle of claret, take it in his great big paw. and think the wine without spilling a drop. One lay he <*ame to the bungalow where his master lived, opened the gate, ami trumpeted loud and long to let them know he was there.

\\ hen his master came out to know what he wanted, the elephant took a pitcher which held a few drops of water, poured it on to tin* ground, and tried to sip it with his trunk. This was to show his master that hv was thisrty. So the pitcher was filled for him. and Joe went away, shutting and bolting tin* gate after him! The Huke of Devonshire had a tame elephant who actually used to lake a broom and sweep the garden path and help the gardener water the flow *r beds