h_ from its back. Elephants are, however, generally so
well-trained, that I never felt any fear when seated on the back of one.
They are, indeed, wonderfully sensible creatures, and can be taught to
do anything. They sometimes convey luggage and even light guns over
rough country, which wheels cannot traverse. With their trunks they
lift up enormous logs of wood, and place them exactly as directed when
roads are being formed, and they will even build up piles of logs,
placing each with the greatest exactness. I have heard of elephants
taking up children in their trunks and playing with them, and putting
them down again, without doing them the slightest injury. They can, as
the natives say, do everything but talk, indeed they seem to understand
what is said to them, and I have seen a _mahout_ whisper in his
elephant's ear, when the creature immediately obeyed him, though he
possibly may have used some other sign which I did not observe."

"I should like to travel on the back of one of the well-trained
elephants you speak of, mamma, because I could then look about and see
the country, though I think that I should at first be somewhat afraid
until I got accustomed to it," remarked Fanny.

"You may be able to try how you like riding on the back of one of them
at the Zoological Gardens, where perhaps your papa will take you some
day," said Mrs Leslie, "it is among the places I thought you would like
to see, and I told him that I was sure you would be very much interested
in going there?"

"I will go too, and take care of you," said Norman, with a patronising
air, "I have ridden on an elephant in India, and if there are any tigers
we will shoot them."

"There are several tigers in the Zoological Gardens, but the owners
would object to your shooting them, Norman," observed Mrs Leslie.
"They are safely shut up in cages."

"I suppose the people are afraid of them," said Norman, "I am not afraid
of tigers, and when I go back to India I intend to shoot a great many."

"You should not boast so much, Norman," observed his mamma. "Do you not
remember how frightened you were at the tame leopard which our friend
Mr James kept in his bungalow, and how, when you first saw the animal,
you screamed out and came running to me for protection. I was not
surprised, for had its master not been with us I should have been
frightened too. But I do not like to hear you boast of your valour,
especially when I cannot recollect any occas