So Mr. Jumbo commenced to dig with his great tusks and pull with his
great trunk at the dirt and stones and the roots that were in the way,
until the mouth of the cave was ever so much larger than it had been,
but it was still too small for the elephant to get in; so the Circus
Bear came to the mouth of the cave and told Jumbo how glad he was to
see him. Mr. Jumbo took hold of the Circus Bear's foot with his trunk
and shook it, just like two people shaking hands. He was so glad to see
the bear that had been so good to get things for him when he was in the
circus, for there he was tied to a stake by a great chain. (That is the
way they keep elephants with the circus, you know.)
When Mr. Jumbo found that he could not get into the cave, he said to
the Circus Bear and to all of the bears, "You know that the other
animals are trying to find this cave, and as soon as they find it they
will want to live here, and we ought to get the cave ready for them."
Then the Papa Bear said, "What do you think that we ought to do? Do you
think that we could make the cave larger for all of the animals?"
Mr. Jumbo said, "Well, I think the first thing we ought to do is to go
down to the wreck of the train and get some of the things that we want
from the wreck, before the men come back and take everything away."
All of the bears, and the monkey, thought that was the best thing they
could do. They went down right away, and found that all of the animals
had gone, but there were lots of things that they wanted to take up to
the cave. Mr. Jumbo found the beautiful howdah that the circus man used
to place on his back.
A howdah, you know, is that big saddle they put on an elephant's back
for the people to ride in. It was painted with red and yellow paint,
and had beautiful red plush cushions in it. It had a top to keep the
sun off of any one that was riding in the howdah, on the elephant's
back. The bears said that they could put the howdah on the elephant's
back, but that they could not fasten it there, for they had no hands to
buckle the straps with.
Then the monkey said, "I can fasten the buckles with my hands, for you
know that I have fingers just like a man, and a man buckles the straps
by using his fingers."
The Papa Bear and the Mamma Bear, Susie Bear, the Circus Bear, and the
little Cub Bear lifted as hard as they could, but of course they could
not lift the heavy howdah way up on Mr. Jumbo's back, for they were not
tall enough, so Mr. Jumbo said, "I will kneel down, and then you will
not have to lift so far, and I can help you with my trunk."
So he knelt, and the bears all lifted at once, and Mr. Jumbo helped
them with his trunk, and finally they got the howdah in the right place
on his back. Then the monkey buckled the straps, and everything was
ready to take the howdah up to the cave, where the bears live.
The Papa Bear said, "Let us fill the howdah with the things we want to
take up to the cave." And they commenced to hunt for the things that
they wanted, and what do you think they found? A great bass drum, so
big that a little bear could get into it; and they also found a smaller
drum, and a fife and some big brass horns that belonged to the band.
Then they found some harness that was used for the beautiful black and
white horses that ran the chariot races. They put all of these things
into the howdah.
When the howdah was nearly full, the little Cub Bear asked his papa if
he couldn't ride in the howdah. Mr. Jumbo heard the little Cub Bear
ask, and he said it would be all right, because he was very strong and
could carry a great deal more than they had put on his back. When the
little Cub Bear climbed into the howdah, Mr. Jumbo straightened out
his front legs to get up, and the little Cub Bear nearly tipped out of
the rear end of the howdah; and then he straightened his hind legs and
stood up, and the little Cub Bear nearly fell out again.
Just as they started up the hill, the monkey said, "You need a driver;"
and he grasped Mr. Jumbo's tail and climbed up the tail just as if he
were going up a tree; then he scampered along Mr. Jumbo's back, clear
over the top of the howdah, until he sat right on top of Mr. Jumbo's
head, just as the drivers do, when they drive elephants. Then the
monkey asked Mr. Jumbo to hand him a stick with a sharp hook in the end
of it, that the drivers used to guide the elephants with. Mr. Jumbo
reached over with his long nose that had a thumb and finger on the end
of it, and picked up the stick and handed it up to the monkey, for he
knew the monkey was not strong enough to hurt him much.
[Illustration: Mr. Jumbo reached over and picked up the stick.]
The monkey said very proudly, "Get up, Mr. Jumbo," and away they went
to the bears' cave. When they got there, Mr. Jumbo knelt down, and the
little bear nearly tumbled out again, but he jumped out all right, and
they took the howdah off Mr. Jumbo's back. The bears and monkey took
everything out of the howdah and carried it into the cave.
Then the animals all went back again to the place where the train was
wrecked, to see if there was anything else they could get. This time
they found a chariot, that had two wheels, and it was all covered with
gilt and with angels made of gold, and it was very, very beautiful.
Mr. Jumbo said that if the bears and the monkey could hitch him to the
chariot, they could fill it with things and take them up to the den.
So they looked and looked, and finally found a harness, that was used
for the elephant. The monkey and the bears harnessed Mr. Jumbo to the
chariot, and then they looked for things to put into the chariot.
The monkey found the clothes that he used to wear in the circus--a
pair of red trousers, with a green coat, and a little red hat with a
black feather in it, and he put them in the chariot. Mr. Jumbo found a
bale of hay, but they all said that would have to wait until the next
time, because there would not be room in the chariot for this bale of
hay and the other things they wanted to take up. They found the little
drum that the monkey used to play on in the circus, and put that in
the chariot. Then they found a lot of biscuits that the dog in the
circus had to eat, and they put these in the chariot, too. And soon the
chariot was full.
The little Cub Bear thought there was just room enough for him to ride
in the chariot, and he asked Mr. Jumbo if he could ride; and as soon
as Mr. Jumbo said "Yes," he climbed in on top of the things in the
chariot, and they all started up to the cave. They had not gone very
far before the monkey got hold of Mr. Jumbo's tail and scampered up to
his place on top of Mr. Jumbo's head. They soon reached the cave, and
there they unhitched Mr. Jumbo and left the chariot and all the things
in it, and went back to the train wreck, because they knew that there
was another chariot there even more beautiful than this one; and when
they reached the wreck again, Mr. Jumbo went over to where the big bale
of hay was; and how do you suppose he carried the bale of hay?
He knelt down, and he ran his great teeth, called tusks, under the
bale of hay, then he wrapped his long nose, or trunk, as it is called,
around the bale, and stood up and carried the hay over and put it in
the chariot. Then he went for two more bales in the same way, and
placed them in the chariot. The monkey then hitched Mr. Jumbo to the
chariot, and they again started up the hill. In this way they hauled
two or three loads of hay, and then they unhitched Mr. Jumbo and left
the chariot up near the bears' cave.
Then the bears, the monkey, and the elephant went back to the wreck,
and each one carried everything he could. The bears got their arms
full, and walked all the way up to the den on their hind legs. The
monkey got his little arms full--of what do you suppose? Bags of
roasted peanuts. The elephant carried up three great sacks filled with
barley. They worked so hard that it took them nearly all day.
That night as they were wondering whether any of the animals would find
the cave in the dark, they suddenly heard the flapping of wings. The
little Cub Bear ran at once to the mouth of the cave to see what it was.
"Oh! Circus Bear," he said, "here is a great bird. He has great big
eyes as large as marbles. He has the funniest pointed ears. He has a
hook nose; he has great claws, and he is as big as half a dozen doves."