Chapter IV: Part 4

One of the recent stories related of an elephant's astuteness contains an element of doubt, but the comic side of it makes up for that delinquency. It seems that this particular native African was an attaché of a travelling circus, and part of his performance consisted in sitting on a stool in front of a piano and producing some hideous discords called music. One day, having hit the instrument heavier than usual, he irreparably smashed it. A new one was purchased, but when the elephant took his place on the stool as usual he absolutely refused to do his act and groaned very miserably. He was led out, and after a short time the manager entered with this excuse:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I regret that the disobedience of Jack has caused you a loss of pleasure; but unfortunately the poor fellow discovered that the ivory in the keys of the piano came from his mother's tusks, and he couldn't play for grief."

* * * * *

AFTER EXCITEMENT.

FARMER. "Come down with me. Jack, and I'll show you the cows."

JACK. "Hoh! Cows ain't exciting to anything but girls. If mamma'll put my red suit on me I'll go look at the bull."

* * * * *

WALLIE'S IDEA OF IT.

"Papa," said Wallie, "I wish you'd buy me a shovel. I get awfully thirsty in the daytime."

"What on earth has a shovel to do with that?"

"Well, somebody told me that on farms when you wanted water you had to dig a well."

* * * * *

A GOOD THING TO BE.

"Wish I was a squash vine," sobbed Wilbur, after he had been punished for trampling down the corn. "Squash vines can run all about the garden, and nobody complains."

* * * * *

A SMALL GIRL'S DISCOVERY.

"I know why it's such fun to play in the hay," said little Anne. "It's because hay tickles you and makes you laugh."

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, August 11, 1896, by Various