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[Illustration: Midnight Pool: Animals Drinking]
HEATH SUPPLEMENTARY READERS
THE WONDERS OF
THE JUNGLE
PRINCE SARATH GHOSH
BOOK ONE
D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO ATLANTA
DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO LONDON
COPYRIGHT, 1915,
BY D. C. HEATH & CO.
* * * * *
PREFACE
One of the great thinkers of the world has said that all the sciences
are embodied in natural history. Hence natural history should be
taught to a child from an early age.
Perhaps the best method of teaching it is to set forth the
characteristics of animals in the form of a narrative. Then the child
reads the narrative with pleasure and almost as a story, not as a
tedious "lesson."
I have followed that method in the Wonders of the Jungle. The present
work (Book One) is intended to be a supplementary reader for the
earlier grades in grammar schools. If it be found useful, I shall
write one or two more books in progressive order for the use of higher
grades.
In Book One I have depicted only such wild animals as appeal to the
interest of young children, and even to their sympathy and love. In
subsequent books I shall describe the animals that prey upon others.
As those animals are not lovable, it would be better for the child to
read about them a year or two later. But even to those animals I shall
be just, and shall depict their good qualities as well as their
preying habits. How many people know that the very worst animal, the
tiger, is a better husband and father than many men? Or that the
ferocity of the tigress is prompted entirely by her maternal
instinct--and that in every case of unusual ferocity yet recorded it
was afterward found that there was a helpless cub somewhere near?
Hence in subsequent books I shall enter more fully into the causes of
animal instincts and characteristics--their loves and their hates and
their fears.
Regarding the scheme of Book One, the animals are described in their
daily life, and the main scientific facts and principles concerning
each animal are woven into the narrative as a part of that daily life.
But while teaching science to the child in that pleasant form, a few
other purposes have also been kept in view:--
1. To cultivate the child's imagination. True imagination is the
ability to visualize mentally the realities of life, not what is
unreal--for which it is so often mistaken. Hence in this book the
child is helped to visualize the animals in their actual haunts, and
to see each incident as it actually happens.
2. To cultivate the child's reasoning faculty. The child is encouraged
at every step to think and to reason why the animal does certain
things; _e.g._ why the elephant does not drink directly with its
mouth, but has to squirt the water into it with the trunk.
3. To teach a moral from the study of animals. The whole of Creation
is one immense and beautiful pattern: so the child may well be trained
to see the pattern in this also. And as a practical benefit from the
study of animals, the child may learn thereby the value of certain
qualities, such as obedience, discipline, and good citizenship--_e.g._
as in the remarkable case of the elephant, the buffalo, and the
flamingo, as described in the text. In this regard I have kept in mind
the very useful suggestions formulated a few years ago by the Moral
Education League of Great Britain, under the patronage of Queen Mary,
five of whose children at that time ranged in age from seven to
fifteen. One of the functions of education is to present to the child
the noblest and the most elevated of ideals. I have sought to do that
in almost every chapter.
I have to acknowledge my obligation to the New York Kindergarten
Association for its valuable cooperation in putting this book through
a practical test. The Kindergarten Association on more than one
occasion provided me with a large audience of children, ranging in age
from six to nine, ex-pupils of the Association, who are now in the
public schools.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. THE MIDNIGHT POOL
Elephants Drink First--But Down Stream
How the Elephant Drinks
Why the Elephant Drinks with his Trunk
II. THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE
How Buffaloes Come to Drink--In Rows
Buffalo Knights Guard the Timid Deer
Wild Pigs--Careless
Red Dogs--Bold, Fearing Nobody
Other Animals Come Alone
The Law of the Jungle--Clear Water for All
III. THE ELEPHANTS' BATH
Elephant Child Obeys Mamma--or Gets Spanked
How the Elephant Child is Bathed
How the Elephant Child Learns to Swim
IV. ELEPHANTS: THE TRICKS OF THE JUNGLE
Elephant Child Learns to Feed
Elephant Child "Swats" Tormenting Flies
Elephant Covers Back from Hot Sun
How Elephants Walk under Water
How Elephants Break Down or Pull Out Trees
V. ELEPHANTS: THE TRICKY TRAP
The Elephant Taps Suspicious Ground with his Trunk
Elephant Tricks the Tricky Trappers
VI. BUFFALOES: THE KNIGHTS OF THE JUNGLE
Buffaloes Cover Body with Mud against Flies
How Buffaloes Guard against Tiger while Feeding
How Buffaloes Know Danger is Coming--Three ways
Buffalo Sentinels
Buffaloes Make a Ring when Tiger Comes
Small Animals Find Safety in Buffalo Ring
VII. TAMING THE BUFFALO
Wild Buffaloes Tamed Quickly by Kindness
Little Boys Take Charge of Buffaloes
How the Big Buffaloes Love the Little Boys
VIII. THE BUFFALO AND THE BOY
IX. DEER AND ANTELOPE
Horns and Antlers Different in Three Ways
Elk and Other American Deer
Other Kinds of Deer
Barking Deer--One of the Wonders of Nature
X. DEER AND ANTELOPE: THEIR SPECIAL GIFTS
Each Animal has the Gift he Needs Most
XI. THE CAMEL
The Camel's Wonderful Gifts
XII. THE CAMEL AND THE THIEF
XIII. BEARS
The Polar Bear
American Bears
Other Bears
XIV. BEARS: THE TRICKY TRAP
XV. BRIGHT BIRDS
The Flamingo
The Parrot
The Cockatoo
The Peacock
The Golden Pheasant
The Snowy Egret
XVI. THE CAGED PARROT
* * * * *
ILLUSTRATIONS
MIDNIGHT POOL: ANIMALS DRINKING Frontispiece
THE BUFFALOES AND THE BLUE DEER
AN ELEPHANT GIVING HIMSELF A SHOWER BATH.
AN ELEPHANT MAMMA CARRYING HER CHILD ACROSS THE RIVER
AN ELEPHANT BREAKING A TREE WITH HIS FOOT
ELEPHANT PULLING BANANAS OUT OF A TRICKY TRAP
THE BUFFALO THAT LIVES IN INDIA
THE TIGER AND THE RING OF BUFFALOES
TAME WATER BUFFALOES PLOWING IN THE RICE FIELDS
ANTELOPE
ELK
ARABIAN CAMEL--WITH ONE HUMP
BACTRIAN CAMEL--WITH TWO HUMPS
SAND STORM IN THE DESERT
CROSSING THE DESERT WITH CAMELS
POLAR BEAR
HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR
A BEAR FIGHTING A BLOCK OF STONE
A FLAMINGO COLONY
SNOWY EGRETS
* * * * *
THE WONDERS OF THE JUNGLE
CHAPTER I
The Midnight Pool
My dear, I shall tell you all about the wonders of the jungle. You
have seen many animals in the zoo or in a circus--elephants, bears,
lions, tigers, leopards, and many others. But the jungle is the place
where these animals live before they are brought to the zoo or the
circus.
In fact, _jungle_ really means a _wild place_; that is, a place where
trees and bushes grow quite wild, so that men never cut down the trees
or clear away the bushes. That is the natural home for all sorts of
animals.
Now I am going to tell you about the wonderful way in which they live
there with their families, as we do in our homes; for the Papas and
Mammas among the animals are just as fond of their children as ours
are. So you must _imagine_ that you are going into the jungle with
me, so that I can show you everything. You see, it is just like a game
of _pretending_, that we are going to play.
There is actually a place in the jungle where you can see all the
animals at once. In fact, that place is so wonderful that King George
and Queen Mary of England went to see it; that was a few years ago,
when they went to India, which is a far-away country. For in India
there is a huge jungle where many thousands of animals live.
So you must _pretend_ that I am taking you to the Royal party, and
that you are sitting with the King and Queen and all the fine men and
lovely ladies; and we are watching the animals, while I tell you all
about them.
First, I must tell you that it is midnight, and all the animals are
coming to a stream of water to drink. This stream is a river about
twice as wide as a large street in your home town. We are sitting on
the bank, on one side of the stream; and the animals are coming to
drink on the bank on the other side.
"But," you may say, "will not the animals see us across the stream,
and get frightened and run away?"
That is quite true. But the King and Queen had thought of that. So
they ordered a lot of men to put a large net on their side of the
stream, just in front of them, and then to cover the net with twigs
and leaves so cleverly that the animals thought the leaves were a part
of the jungle, and did not see the people on the other side of the
net.
So the King and Queen, and you and I, can peep quietly through the
leaves and watch the animals. Almost all wild animals drink at
midnight; so we shall see them now.
Where will the animals come from? You see the stream before us; well,
on the other side of it is the jungle, where the animals live. Right
in front of us we see a gap in the jungle close to the bank. That gap
was made by _elephants_ by beating down the bushes with their feet.
They made it long ago to come to the water, and now they use it every
night. In fact, it is known among the jungle folks as the _Elephant
Path_; for no other animal would dare to use it before the elephants
did.
The elephants, being the biggest of all animals, are the _lords of the
jungle_; so they have the right to come first to drink. They are also the
wisest of all animals. You have seen many kinds of animals--elephants,
horses, dogs, monkeys, and others--do funny tricks in a circus. Now, all
these animals except the elephant have to be _taught_ to do tricks; the
elephant is the only animal that can think out a trick for itself.
Of course in a circus there is always a teacher, or trainer, to show
even the elephant how to do tricks; but in the jungle the elephant can
find out how to do things for itself.
Very soon I shall tell you about the tricks which the elephant
actually does in the jungle; and as you hear about them, you must
_think_! Why? Because then you will know _why_ the elephant does these
things--and that will show you how clever _you_ can be!
_Elephants Drink First--but Down Stream_
First let us watch the elephants as they come to the river through the
gap in the jungle.
See! They come one at a time, _one behind another;_ for the gap is not
big enough for more than one at the same time. The elephant is so big
that it can get through the jungle only in this way.
First come a number of _bull elephants_. They are the Papa elephants;
you can always tell them by the _huge tusks_ they have. The bulls
come first, in case there are any enemies waiting to hurt their
children; for then the bulls can drive off the enemies.
As each bull elephant comes through the gap, you see him turn to our
right, which is _down_ the stream--that is, the way the water flows.
You see the first one walk along the bank that way, and the second
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, it is the duty of the President to
keep his own herd away from the two that are fighting, and not mix in
the fight in any way. All these wonderful things and many others you
will read in the other book, when you are a little older.
But let us see what the President has to do when the whole herd is
standing in line, facing the water. He is at the bottom of the line,
far down stream; so he looks up along the line to see that all are
ready. Then he gives the signal for them to begin drinking; he does
this by dipping his trunk into the water. Then the second one sees him
do it, and does the same; in that way each elephant higher up the line
sees that the next one below him has started drinking, so he too does
the same. Soon they are all drinking, as you see in the picture at the
beginning of this book.
But why does the President have to give the signal to begin? Why is it
that any elephant, anywhere along the line, cannot start drinking,
just as he or she pleases? Think!
Because if any one along the line started drinking too soon, he might
muddy the water for those that stood _below_ him along the line,
because the water flows down that way. But if the lower ones drank a
little before, it would not matter if they _did_ muddy the water, for
the higher ones would still have clear water to drink. That is why the
lowest one drinks first, then the next, and so on up the line. Is not
that very wise, and very fair to all?
_How the Elephant Drinks_
But you must not think that an elephant actually drinks _through_ his
trunk! He does not! The elephant's trunk is really his nose, though it
is a very long nose. What he does is to dip the trunk into the stream
and suck in the water about halfway up the trunk; then he curls up the
tip of the trunk and gets it near his mouth; then he _blows_ through
the nose, and _squirts_ the water into his mouth. Of course he has to
do that many times, to get enough to drink. But he tries each time to
dip only the tip of the trunk into the stream, so as not to muddy the
water willfully!
_Why the Elephant Drinks with His Trunk_
But, you may say, why cannot he drink like other animals, by going
right into the stream till he gets his _mouth_ into the water? Because
his mouth is so high up, and his neck is so stiff, that he would have
to go quite two or three yards deep into the stream before he could
get his mouth into the water, and then his heavy feet would stir up
the mud in the stream where he was standing, and so dirty the very
water he was drinking.
Now you see what a wise animal the elephant is! The only way he could
get clear water to drink was by having a long nose! And that is
exactly what happened many, many years ago--his nose became long
enough to reach the water from the bank. How that happened I shall
tell you in another book, as you will not understand it till you are a
year or two older.
All the grown-up elephants drink in this way, and also some of the
elephant children whose trunks have grown long enough to reach the
stream. But what about a baby elephant? Why, its Mamma fills her own
trunk with water, puts the tip into the baby's mouth and squirts the
water into it.
But now after watching the elephants--who are on our right, down the
stream--let us turn our eyes to the left, and look _up_ the stream.