第13章 STORIES OF THE ELEPHANT (I) 大象的故事（一）

In the Island of Ceylon, there are large herds of wild elephants. Many have been caught and tamed, and made useful in helping to build bridges, houses, and churches.

Travellers tell us, that some of them are as careful about the neatness of their work as men could be! An elephant has been known to step back a few yards to see if it had laid a block of wood or stone straight; and then, if not satisfied, to return and push it into its right place!

Some years ago, an engineer in Ceylon bad to lay pipes to convey water nearly two miles, over hills and through woods where there were no roads. To help him in his work, he had to employ several elephants; and nothing could be more interesting than to watch the way in which the elephant engineers did their work.

Lifting up one of the heavy pieces of pipe, and balancing it in its trunk, each animal would march off with its load, and carry it safely over every obstacle, to the place where it was to be laid When it reached the spot, it would kneel down and place the pipe exactly where the driver wished.

Once, when one of the elephants found it hard to get one of the pipes it had brought fitted into another, it got up and went to the end of the pipe, and putting its head against it, soon forced it into its right place.

In a show of wild beasts at Bath, some years ago, there was a large good-natured elephant. Among the crowd that went to see it was a baker. He thought it a clever thing to tease the elephant, by pretending to give it a cake, and then pulling away his hand.

The elephant bore this for some time well enough, but at last it got angry. Putting its trunk out of the cage, it caught the baker round the waist, lifted him to the top of the caravan, and bumped his head with great force against the roof.

Everybody thought the man would be killed. But all at once the elephant loosened its trunk, and dropped him from the roof to the ground, in the very midst of the people. There he lay for a minute or two, looking half dead; but when the people came to him, he got up and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Though he was very much frightened, he was not hurt; but you may be sure he never tried to play tricks upon elephants again.

A poor woman, in one of the cities of India, had a stall in the market-place, where she sold fruit. An elephant used to go by, and always stopped to look at her stall. She knew how fond the elephant was of fruit; and she used, now and then, to give him some.

One day the elephant fell into a passion with his keeper. He broke loose, and ran through the market, trampling down everything before him.

The people at the stalls ran away as fast as they could. The poor woman left her stall and ran too. But she forgot, in her fright, that her little child was sitting on the ground, close by the stall!

It was just in the elephant's way, and you would think it must have been trampled to death. But the elephant knew the child again, and knew that this was the stall where he had been fed with fruit.

Though he was in a passion, he stopped. He looked at the child, and picked it up with his trunk. Then he set it out of his way, and went on. You may think how glad the poor woman was to see her child safe.

Questions

Where are there large herds of wild elephants? For what are they useful when tamed? What are the elephants in the picture doing? When did this take place? What did one of the elephants do when it could not get the pipe to fit? What did the elephant at Bath do to the baker who teased him? How did the poor woman in India make the elephant her friend? How did he reward her?

Pronunciation

el'-e-phants car'-a-van a-ware' use'-ful care'-ful

trav'-el-lers fright'-ened tram'-pled bridg'-es con-vey'

neat'-ness hap'-pened pre-tend'-ing hous'-es mar'-ket

bal'-anc-ing swal'-low loos'-ened church'-es al'-ways

Write

build kneel caught

Ceylon obstacle loosened

satisfied engineer pretending

在锡兰岛上，有一大群野生大象。其中，有相当数量的大象被人类捕捉、驯化，并用来帮助人们建造桥梁、房屋和教堂。

旅行者告诉我们，这些大象像人类一样，要求自己要把活干得干净利落。大家都知道，大象在工作的时候会后退几米，看看自己是不是把木材或石头放平了。如果放得不满意的话，它会返回去把东西推到正确的位置上。

若干年前，锡兰的一位工程师要铺设管道，把水输送到将近两公里外的地方。这个工程要穿越大山和森林，没有道路可走。为了完成这项工作，这位工程师使用了很多大象，而看这些大象“工程师”工作是再有趣不过的事了。

大象举起一段沉重的管道，用鼻子将它保持平衡。面对这么重的管道，任何动物都会望而却步，然而大象却能穿越任何障碍，安全地把管道搬到目的地。大象到达目的地后，就弯下膝盖，把管道准确地放到指定的位置。

有一次，有头大象觉得有一根管道放得不整齐，于是就起身走到管道末端，用头去顶管道，一会儿就把管道推进了合适的位置。

很多年前，在巴斯举办的一场野生动物表演上，有一头脾气温顺的大象。在看大象的人群中，有一个面包师。面包师想了一个捉弄大象的好主意，他假装给大象一个蛋糕，然后再把手抽回来。

被戏弄了好几次之后，这头大象终于忍不住愤怒了。它把鼻子伸出笼外，绕住面包师的腰，把他举到大篷车顶上，将他的头狠狠地撞向车顶。

这时，所有人都觉得这个人肯定死定了，但是大象马上又松开了鼻子，把那人从房顶放到了地面的人群中。面包师在地上躺了一两分钟，看起来奄奄一息。但是当人们到他身边查看时，他竟然站起来走了，好像什么事都没发生过一样。

虽然面包师被吓得够呛，却没有受伤，但是可以确定，他以后再也不敢对大象恶作剧了。

在印度一座城市住着一位贫穷的妇女，她在市场上有一个卖水果的摊位。以前，一头大象每次经过这里，都会在她的摊位前停下来。她知道大象非常喜欢吃水果，于是就不时地给它喂一些。

有一次，这头大象冲饲养员发脾气，摆脱饲养员，冲进市场，见到什么东西就踩踏。

摊位上的人见状都飞快地跑了，这个可怜的妇女也丢下摊位跑了。但是，她在慌乱之中忘了，她的孩子还坐在地上，就在摊位旁边！

眼见大象就要跑到她的摊位。你可以想象大象发怒的样子。但是大象认出了这个孩子，它知道这个摊位是那个曾经喂她水果的妇女的。

虽然大象在生气，但是它还是停下了。它看着这个孩子，用鼻子把孩子从地上举起来，放到一旁，然后走了。你可以想象，这个可怜的妇女看到自己的孩子安然无恙时是多么高兴。