CATCHING WILD ELEPHANTS IN CEYLON. Bran-dish, wave, flourish about. elephants. En-tice, tempt; allure. Ex-tends', stretches away. IN catching wild elephants in Ceylon, the natives choose a place near to the forest, and make a fence round it, each post in the fence being the trunk of a tree. Sometimes the space enclosed is so great that the fence extends* for several miles! The space inside the fence is called a corral.* There are openings like great door-ways left in it, by which the elephants are to get in when they come rushing towards it. CATCHING WILD ELEPHANTS IN CEYLON. 167 When the corral has been made ready, the elephants begin to see blazing lights all around them. These are the fires that the natives have made to frighten the elephants. The fires seem at first a long way off. But they come nearer and nearer, until the poor elephants are hemmed in by fires on all sides but one. Behind the flames are crowds of men, with white shining sticks and spears in their hands. The men knock these sticks about, and brandish* their spears, all the time making a great shouting noise, to frighten the elephants as much as they can. The elephants look about, to see how they can escape. Only one way is left open, and the whole herd sets off down it with a furious rush. That one way leads them to the corral ! As soon as they are in the corral, the natives bar up the door-ways, and the poor elephants are penned in, as securely as if they were in a prison. One by one they must be got out, and this is done with the help of tame elephants which were once caught in the corral themselves; but since then they have been well taught, and are now quite willing to help to catch their old friends of the forest. When one of the elephants has been got out, the natives bar the door-way behind him. He rushes about in a great fury; but the tame elephants then come, one on each side of him, and stroke him with their trunks, and seem to talk to him. He becomes a little him. By-and-by they away from the corral. quieter while they are with entice* him to follow them When they come to a good 168 CATCHING WILD ELEPHANTS IN CEYLON. strong tree they stop. The natives keep close behind, and contrive to slip a strong rope round one of his legs, and then to coil it round and round the tree. As soon as he is tied fast, his false friends leave him. He tries to follow them; and when he finds that he cannot, he roars, and struggles as if he would pull the tree down! The natives soon come back, and bring him cocoa-nuts and plenty of green leaves to eat. At first he is too angry to eat, and he tosses the cocoanuts about, and tramples them under his feet; but in spite of his rage he cannot help getting hungry. By-and-by he is glad to take all the nuts and good things the natives bring him. In a few days he begins to be tame and gentle; and in a little time he can be made to do anything his master likes. One by one the other elephants in the corral are let out and tamed in the same way. QUESTIONS.-What is a corral? Why are openings left in it? Why do the natives make fires round the troop of elephants? Where does the only way left open to them lead to? What is done when they are in the corral? With what help are they taken out? What does an elephant do when taken out of the corral? How do the tame ones treat him? When do they leave him? What does he then do? What do the natives then give him? Ker-nel, the soft part; inside of the Plum-ing, picking and dressing. forests of South America. PARROTS abound in the They live where there is summer all the year round, where the leaves are always green, and the flowers are always blooming. There the bright little humming-bird may be seen darting about in the sunshine. And at night the fire-fly flits* to and fro, shining like a tiny star. If The parrot makes his home in the forest, because he can find shade there in the heat of the day. you were going through the forest, you would hear such a noise and chattering in the boughs over your head, that you would wonder what was the matter. If you looked up, you would see a great many parrots sitting on the boughs. Parrots feed chiefly on fruit and seeds; and plenty of fruit grows in the forest for them to eat. They are very fond of the wild cherry, especially* of the stone. They drive their hard, strong bill into it, and get the kernel* out in a minute. The bill of the parrot seems made on purpose to enable him to crack these stones. It is very sharp, and is hooked at the end. In fact, his bill is his knife, and his foot is his He can hold anything he likes in his foot. your hand is to you. fork. It is as useful to him as The toes of the parrot are as distinct* from each other as your fingers are; and the joints are so supple that he can bend them about in any way he pleases. If it were not for his foot, he could never climb the trees as he does. He hooks himself on to a branch overhead by his bill. Then he lays hold of a bough with his foot, and pulls himself up. He goes on climbing in this way till he gets to the top of the tree. They fly about Then they They dip into Parrots are very fond of bathing. till they find some clear pool or stream. enjoy themselves very much indeed. the water, and splash it all over their feathers. When they are tired of bathing, they sit in the sun and dress their feathers till they are dry. In the middle of the day, the heat becomes very great. Then the parrots fly into the deepest shade they can find. They perch on the trees and go to |