Richard Barnum

“ Well, I guess we did!" cried Whoo-ee.
"Well, maybe you did, but I didn't," complained Gumble-umble. "Zunga got right in my way, when I wanted to look."
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Zunga. "I didn't mean to."
"Oh, don't mind Gumble-umble," said Tum Tum, with another jolly laugh. "He's always finding fault. I'll pull up another tree, and fall again, Gumble-umble, so you can see me do it, if you like."
"No, don't. You might hurt yourself," said Thorny, the other girl elephant.
"Pooh!" cried Tum Tum. "I'm not afraid!" ”

“ But before he could reach it, two tame elephants rushed at him, and Gumble-umble was soon bound with strong chains and ropes, so that he could hardly move.
"It is all your fault!" he cried to Tum Tum.
"No, it is your own," said Gumble-umble's papa. "Now you must quiet down and be a good elephant. We are caught, we can go no more to the jungle, but perhaps it is best for us."
So Tum Tum and the wild elephants were thus caught.
For a time the herd of wild elephants was kept inside the fence. ”

“ Then we shall go to the circus."
"Is the circus nice?" asked Tum Tum.
"I have been in one or two, and I like them," said the old elephant, whose name was Hoy. "There is hard work, but there is also fun."
"Tell me about the fun," said Tum Tum. "I do not like to hear about the hard work."
"The work goes with the fun," said Hoy, "so I will tell you about both. The hard work comes in marching through the hard city streets, that hurt your feet. That is when we go in the parade. ”

“ But, no matter how hard the elephants pulled, they could not pull the hippopotamus wagon out of the mud.
"Well, what are we going to do?" asked the head circus man. "We cannot stay here all day."
"Suppose you let my elephant, Tum Tum, try to pull the wagon out of the mud," said Tum Tum's keeper. "My elephant is very strong." ”

“ The head keeper could easily see which way the tiger and elephant had gone, for, though Sharp Tooth did not make much of a track, Tum Tum did. An elephant cannot crash and push his way through the bushes and trees without making a broad path. ”

“ They were made to practice again with ropes, but no ropes were needed for Tum Tum.
"Well, that's enough for one day," said the head circus man finally. "Give them all some carrots with their hay. To-morrow we shall try having them stand on their front legs."
"Will that be harder?" asked Tum Tum of Hoy as he marched to the side of the barn where the elephants were kept.
"Much harder," said the old elephant. "But I think you can do it."
"I'll try, anyhow," spoke Tum Tum, with a jolly laugh. "I think tricks are fun." ”

“ Have we time to eat?"
"No, indeed," said the lady elephant. "We'll just have to eat as we go along. You children had better go to your fathers and mothers," she said to Whoo-ee, Gumble-umble, Thorny and Zunga. "They are, very likely, looking for you."
So the four friends of Tum Tum started off, and soon the whole herd of elephants was moving off through the jungle, led by Mr. Boom, who had heard of the danger from a monkey friend.
All that day the herd of elephants kept on, crashing their way through the jungle. They did not follow any path, but made one for themselves. ”

“ That's the way to do it, Tum Tum!" cried his keeper. "You know how to put out a fire! That's the way. You're as good as a fire engine yourself!"
Tum Tum did not answer. In the first place, he could not talk to his keeper except in elephant [Pg 91] language, which the circus man did not understand. And, in the second place, Tum Tum was going to suck up more water in his nose, for the fire was not quite out yet. And you know it is hard to talk when you have your nose full of water, even if you are an elephant.
Whooo-ish! went more water from Tum Tum's trunk on the blazing peanut wagon and straw. ”

“ Then we can run off to the woods, and live there until we can find our way back to the jungle. Will you come with me, Roarer?"
"Yes," said the lion, "I will. Tell me how to get out of my cage and back to the jungle."
The lion and tiger did not know that the jungle, where they had lived, was many miles away, across the big ocean.
"This is how we can get out," said Sharp Tooth. "You know when the man cleans our cages each night, he leaves the door unlocked so the feeding man can follow and put meat in easily." ”

“ If they had all gotten together, and pushed at one spot, they might have broken it, but they pushed in different places, and the fence held them back.
"Never mind!" called Mr. Boom. "Maybe this fence has a hole in it. We'll run along it and find out."
"Why can't we turn around and go back?" asked Gumble-umble of Tum Tum, behind whom he was now running.
"Because the hunters are behind us," said Tum Tum. "If we turned back, they would surely catch us. The only thing to do is to run on."
Tum Tum was beginning to be a smart elephant, you see. He knew many things about danger. ”

“ Day after day went past in the circus, and still Mappo did not come back. Sometimes Tum Tum was lonesome for his little monkey friend, but there was so much to do, that no one in a circus could be lonesome for very long at a time.
Tum Tum was learning some new tricks, and this took up much of his time. Each day he was growing bigger and stronger, for he was not a very old elephant, when he had been caught in the jungle. Now he was very strong, and he could easily have pushed two heavy animal cages at once. He was the strongest elephant in the whole circus. ”

“ Tum Tum gave a little spring, and raised his front legs from the ground. He settled back on his strong hind legs, and there he was, doing just as Hoy was doing! Tum Tum had learned his first lesson, just as he had learned to pile teakwood logs in straight piles.
[Pg 55] "Ha! We have one smart fellow in the bunch, anyhow!" cried the circus man.
Tum Tum was glad when he heard this, just as you would be, if you had learned your lesson in school. For it is a good thing to learn to do things, even for an elephant. ”

“ Elephants in the jungle live in big families, or herds. At the head is the largest elephant of them all, the leader. He is always on the lookout for danger, and when he sees, hears or smells any, he gives a signal, or trumpet, through his trunk, and then all the elephants run away and hide.
Tum Tum, the jolly elephant, stopped eating his dinner, for he had had enough, anyhow, and off through the jungle he crashed. ”

“ Tusky, looking at Tum Tum, who was busy finishing his dinner.
Elephants, you know, no matter if they are big, are just as much afraid of danger as are other wild animals. Of course they are not so much afraid of the other beasts in the jungles, for the elephant can fight almost anything, even a lion or a tiger.
But an elephant is afraid of the black men, or natives, who live in the jungle, and an elephant is also afraid of the white hunters, who come into the big forest from time to time. ”

“ A dog can eat old bones; he doesn't need a ton of hay a day."
The boys helped the peanut man turn his wagon right side up, and they also helped him gather the scattered peanuts. Then the man built another fire, and went around the tent, selling his peanuts.
"Tum Tum, you are getting smarter and smarter each day," said his keeper, as he led him back to get ready for the parade. "I am proud of you. You are the best elephant in the circus." ”

“ The trees grow big and strong, and between them grow strong vines so that it is hard for any living creature except an elephant, or maybe a snake to push his way along. A snake can crawl on the ground under the vines, you know.
Well, Tum Tum lived in this jungle, and with him lived his father and mother. His father was a great big elephant, named Tusky, and he was called this because he had two big, long, white teeth, called tusks, sticking out on either side of his long trunk, which was like a fat rubber hose. ”

“ Tum Tum had no brothers or sisters, but there were other little boy and girl elephants in the herd, or family of elephants, where he lived, and, altogether, he had a good time in the jungle, Tum Tum did.
One day Tum Tum, who had been eating his dinner of leaves, with his father and mother, heard a loud trumpeting in the woods back of where he was standing. Trumpeting is the noise an elephant makes when he blows through [Pg 9] his long trunk, or nose. It is his way of speaking to another elephant. ”

“ Into the cage she jumped, and the circus men slammed the door shut. The tiger was caught again.
"Good old boy, Tum Tum!" called the elephant's keeper to him, as they were going back to the animal tent. "You saved the tiger from getting away, and that was a good thing, for Sharp Tooth might have bitten someone. You are a very good elephant!" ”

“ And, if you let him, he will try to kiss you with his red tongue. Oh, yes, indeed, animals know a great deal more than most persons think they do.
So that was how Sharp Tooth got out of her cage, and how Tum Tum helped to catch her again. After that the animals' cages were never left open, even for a second.
"Did you get very scratched?" asked Tum Tum of Maggo, when everything was once more quiet in the animal tent.
"No, not much," answered the lady elephant.
"I'm sorry I was not quick enough for the tiger," said Tum Tum. "Never mind, it is all over now." ”

“ When this practice was over, and when Tum Tum could stand on either his front or hind legs, without being pulled by a rope, he was given more carrots to eat.
Tum Tum could now do two tricks, but, as you children know, who have seen elephants in a circus, there are many others that can be done.
Elephants can be made to sit down in a low, strong chair, they can be made to stand on top of a small tub, to play see-saw, to ring bells, play hand organs with their trunks, and do many other queer things they never thought of doing in the jungle. ”

“ But Mappo would not wait, and Tum Tum [Pg 79] could not tell the circus men with him that the lost monkey was just ahead of them. Tum Tum could not speak man talk, you know, and the circus men had not yet seen Mappo. So the little monkey got away.
Tum Tum saw a little animal with Mappo, and the elephant said to himself:
"Ha! That must be Squinty, the comical pig, of whom Don, the dog, told me. I would like to meet Squinty, but I don't see how I can. He can run through these woods faster than I can. Well, maybe I will see him some day. And I do hope Mappo comes back to the circus. ”

“ Why, I have seen elephants fire cannon, wave flags, and play baseball. Elephants are very wonderful, and very wise and lively, for such big animals.
As the winter days went by, Tum Tum learned many tricks in the circus. He learned to stand with other elephants, in a long row, and let the acrobats jump over him, and he also [Pg 57] let the clowns jump right on his broad back. Tum Tum learned to do a little dance, too, but he never danced as well as the ponies could, for Tum Tum was very heavy. ”

“ Once upon a time Tum Tum was a baby elephant, and lived away off in a far country called India, with many other elephants, little and big, in the jungle.
[Pg 8] The jungle is just another name for woods, or forest, only the jungle is a very thick woods. ”

“ Put him down at once!" cried Maggo's keeper.
But Maggo was not going to do that at once.
"Now is your chance, Tum Tum," said Maggo. "I'll hold this bad man, who gave you lemons instead of peanuts, and you can hit him with your trunk."
"No, I'll not do that," said Tum Tum, who was very gentle. "If I did, I might hurt him, for I strike very hard with my trunk. But I will fix him, so he will not play any more tricks on elephants."
Then Tum Tum dipped his trunk in a tub of [Pg 107] water near by, and, suddenly, spurted it all over the man, making him as wet as if he had gone in swimming. ”

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[Pg 100]
[Pg 101]
"Oh, look!" cried the boy. "Here are our balloons, sister!"
"Oh, so they are!" exclaimed the little girl. "Oh, what a good elephant he is to get our balloons back for us!"
"I should say he was!" cried the papa. "That is a smart elephant you have," he said to the keeper.
"Yes, Tum Tum is very good and smart," said the circus man. He reached over, loosed the strings of the balloons from the tree branch, and gave the ends of the cords to the children.
"Now you may let go of the tree, Tum Tum," the man said to the elephant, and Tum Tum dropped the tree on the ground. ”

“ When one of the animal men rushed in and [Pg 76] called out something, Tum Tum knew it was not that.
"One of the monkeys is missing," said one trainer to another. "It is Mappo, that smart one."
"Ha! Is that so?" asked the other. "How did he get loose?"
"He must have slipped out of the cage, when we were on the road. ”

“ And then try speaking nicely. Tell him what a good dog he is, and how much you like him, and see what a change there is.
[Pg 124] He will jump up, and wag his tail, and bark, he is so glad because you are speaking kindly to him. ”