he Princes and the Bad Elephant_

It happened a few years ago, when King George and Queen Mary of England
went to India. At that time a young reigning prince in India had just
succeeded to his father's throne. So there were many ceremonies at the
palace, and festivities among the people. These functions lasted a whole
week, and several elephants were used in processions.

One day the elephants were taken to a place ten miles away to do useful
work, such as to pile timber for building a bridge. Among these
elephants was one called Mukna.

Mukna was a bad-tempered elephant. His tusks never grew more than
half-size. Bull elephants whose tusks do not grow to their full size are
sometimes bad-tempered; they seem to have a grudge against everybody.
Such elephants are always treated with special kindness, as if to make
up to them for their loss.

But in spite of all the kindness Mukna received, his temper grew worse
and worse. He was punished for that, though very lightly; he was merely
deprived of delicacies in his food. Elephants in the service of men
usually get hay, grass, and leaves to eat; but on special days they get
sugar cane, bananas, and a kind of pancake, all of which are great
delicacies to an elephant.

Mukna's keeper had deprived him of these delicacies for his bad temper,
just as a naughty boy's father may deprive the boy of ice-cream. That
should have been a lesson to Mukna to be good. But it was not. Instead,
he got worse.

One morning, when all the elephants were working, Mukna's keeper ordered
him to lift a log. Mukna did not obey. He merely stood still.

Now, disobedience is a serious fault in an elephant--just as it is in a
child. In fact, it is the beginning of all faults on earth, as the Bible
says. If people once allowed even an elephant to be disobedient, they
could not control him any more--just as if a naughty boy were to be left
unpunished for disobeying his parents or teacher, he would get worse,
and disobey his superiors, and even the law, when he grew up.

So Mukna's keeper looked at him sternly and said, "I command you for the
second time to lift that log!"

But Mukna would not yet obey. He merely stood still.

Then all the other elephants looked up from their work, just as grown-up
men in a workshop look up if they hear the foreman scolding a bad
workman. Those other elephants knew what an awful crime disobedience
was.

Then in a deep and stern voice Mukna's keeper said to him, "I