But there seemed to be none. The hunters were left many miles away,
and the elephants could rest and eat in peace. For many months after
this they roamed about, going from place to place in the jungle as
they ate one spot bare of roots and leaves. Sometimes the place where
they drank water would dry up, and they would have to move to another
river or spring. For an elephant must have plenty of water.
All this while Umboo kept on digging up sweet roots when ever he felt
he wanted some, until he could do it almost as well as his mother or
father could.
One day, when the elephant boy was traveling through the jungle he
looked up and saw, growing on top of a tree, some palm nuts. Elephants
are very fond of these, and will go a great way to get them. There are
many kinds of palm trees, and on some grow cocoanuts, and on others
dates; but the palm nuts the elephants eat are different.
Umboo looked up at the palm nuts growing on the tree in the jungle,
and said:
"Oh, how I wish I had some of those."
"Well," said Mrs. Stumptail, "how do you think you can get them?"
"If I were a monkey," said the elephant boy, "I could climb up the
tree and pick them off.
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