There was nothing to be done: they had covered the most part of the trip. At last they reached their destination. Thin-legged cubs rushed to their mother, wagging their tails playfully. But as soon as they got the prey, they snarled menacingly, trying to snatch bigger chunks from one another, stealing rapacious glances at the Hare at the same time. The two friends knew better than trying their luck and decided to keep away from the Hyena’s family. One never knows. Lanchenkar might well have proceeded alone, if the worst came to the worst.

The Elephant’s Child Lanchenkar was standing on the bank of the holy river Ganges and sketching. He was focused and concentrated and oblivious of what was going on around. Since he had no hands, he held the brush in his trunk, dabbing dexterously on the paper. He was painting the Giraffe he had seen in Africa. He wanted his friends to see this wonderful animal with a long neck. The effort made him perspire, the brush he had in his trunk obstructed the flow of the air in and out of his lungs and he was breathing hard. The thing is the trunk serves the elephants as a hand and a nose, a long, long nose!

The Elephant’s Child Lanchenkar was standing on the bank of the holy river Ganges and sketching. He was focused and concentrated and oblivious of what was going on around. Since he had no hands, he held the brush in his trunk, dabbing dexterously on the paper. He was painting the Giraffe he had seen in Africa. He wanted his friends to see this wonderful animal with a long neck. The effort made him perspire, the brush he had in his trunk obstructed the flow of the air in and out of his lungs and he was breathing hard. The thing is the trunk serves the elephants as a hand and a nose, a long, long nose!

There was a creek which generously shared water with all beasts and birds in the jungle and they liked to come there for watering. Beautiful water lilies, lotuses and water hyacinths thrived in the shade. Reed thickets lined the creek. In order to be able to drink good water, one had to find a deep place, knee-deep for big animals and belly- and even neck-deep for small ones. It happened that some animals would get soaked and catch a cold and have it hard. Worse still, the Crocodile King, a huge and terrible predator, lived there.

It should be mentioned that elephants have strong, close-knit families. Mothers tend their offspring till they are fifteen. The elder daughters take care of their younger sisters and brothers. Even after the daughters have families of their own, they don’t leave their parents. They remain in the care and under the protection of their mothers and look after their nieces and nephews. Many young she-elephants become grandmothers and — with luck — great grandmothers and continue to boss around and help raise the young.