e, and I realized that
Kari was the thief. I went to him, pulled him out by the ear and
joyously showed my parents that it was Kari and not I that had
eaten all the fruit these many weeks. Then I scolded him, for
elephants understand words as well as children, and I said to
him, "Next time I see you stealing fruit, you will be whipped."
He knew that we were all angry with him, even the servants. His
pride was so injured that he never stole another thing from the
dining-room. And from then on, if anybody gave him any fruit, he
always squealed as if to thank them.

An elephant is willing to be punished for having done wrong, but
if you punish him without any reason, he will remember it and pay
you back in your own coin.

Once I had taken him to bathe in the river; this was summer
vacation and several boys came with me to help. Kari lay on the
bank and we rubbed him all over with sand. Then he went into the
water and most of us began to play. As Kari came up from the
water, one of the boys, named Sudu, was standing on the bank. For
no reason at all he hit the elephant three or four times with his
whip. Kari squealed and ran away. I brought him home.

The next summer Kari had grown so big and fat that I could not
reach his back even when I stood on tiptoe. We used to take him
out wherever we went, sometimes one riding on his back, sometimes
all walking along with him. We gave him luscious twigs if he
behaved well and sometimes delicious fruit. Once in a great while
as a special treat we would massage his chest with straw and he
would squeal with joy and lie on his back as best he could with
his fat legs, staring at the sun.

One day Sudu was standing on the river bank where I had just
taken the elephant to give him his bath. That day Kari had been
very good, so we prepared a straw massage for him. As it was very
hot, however, we plunged into the river ourselves before giving
him his bath, leaving Sudu and the elephant on the bank. Without
warning, Kari rushed at him like a mad bull, threw his trunk
about Sudu's neck, flung him into the water, and held him there
for a long, long time. When Sudu was finally pulled out of the
water and stretched on the ground, he was nearly senseless.

[Illustration: KARI PUNISHES SUDU]

When Sudu asked me whether I would punish Kari for having
disgraced him in public like that, I answered that the elephant
was not rude. When Sudu asked me why, I said, "Don't you remember
about a yea