"I guess I'll poke away the dirt with my feet," he said.
"Yes, that's a good way to begin," said Mrs. Stumptail.
So Umboo, with his big, broad fore feet, loosened the dirt over the
tree roots. They were not down very deep, being the top roots, and not
the big heavy ones, buried far down in the earth.
"Ha! Now I can see the roots!" cried the little boy elephant. "They
are uncovered, but still I can't lift them up with my trunk, mother.
What shall I do next?"
"What are your tusks for?" asked Mrs. Stumptail. "Don't be so silly!
Pry up the roots with your tusks!"
So Umboo knelt down and put one of his big long teeth under a root.
Then with a twist of his head he pried the root up from the ground.
"There! See how easy it is!" said his mother.
Then Umboo chewed the sweet root, but he did not swallow the hard,
woody part. That would not have been good for him.
"Oh, but this is sweet!" he cried, shutting his eyes as he chewed
away. "This is the sweetest root I ever ate."
"And you dug it up yourself! That is best part of it," said his
mother. "You have learned to do something for yourself.
Pages:
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48