nd
comes after him, then the third, and so on.

But why do they walk along the bank? To make room, of course, for all
their friends who are still coming from behind. In this way about a
dozen bull elephants come ahead of all the others.

After them you see the _cow elephants_, also in a line, one behind
another. They are the Mamma elephants; and nearly every one of them
has a baby elephant trotting in _front_ of her. You have often seen
the ordinary cow that gives you milk; when she goes to graze in the
field, her baby, or calf, trots by her side.

But the Mamma elephant is much wiser, and always tells her baby to
toddle in _front_ of her, in case any one comes suddenly to hurt or
steal the baby. For a tiger sometimes wants to pounce on the baby from
the side, grab it quickly, and carry it away. But he cannot do it if
the baby is right in front of its Mamma; for then she will drive him
off with her tusks, even if they are not quite so big as the tusks
that the Papa elephants have.

As the Mammas reach the bank, each with her baby, you see them also
walk along the bank down stream in a long line.

After all the Mammas and babies have come, you see another set of bull
elephants coming out of the jungle. Why? Because some enemy might try
to attack the Mammas and the babies from the _back_; so these bull
elephants are there to guard them. You see, the Mammas and the babies
are _always in the middle_, safe from all harm.

When all the elephants have reached the stream, they stand in line and
face the water. All these elephants belong to _one herd_; you can
count about a hundred. A herd of elephants is really a _republic_,
like the United States of America, and has a President, who is the
wisest bull in the herd.

In another book I shall tell you how the elephants choose their
President, and make laws, and keep order in the herd; how they choose
some strong bulls among them to act as _policemen_ in the herd, and
catch and punish any naughty elephant who becomes a _rogue_; and how,
if two elephants start quarrelling and fighting like naughty boys, the
police elephants have to catch and punish both of them. Also, I shall
tell you how the President has to lead the herd every day when they go
in search of food, so that they will have plenty to eat.

And in the jungle, as there are other elephant herds and sometimes two
herds find the same feeding ground, and then start quarrelling and
fighting as to who found it first,