1.One of the biggest and most awkward pets I everheard of was a young elephant.A traveller in South Africa got one which had been caught alive by some of the native hunters.He treated it kindly，and a most amusing and intelligentpet it became.What its name was I do not know，but we may call it “Tusky.”
2.Tusky was about nine months old when he was captured，and at first he was a little afraid of his newmaster；but after smelling him all over，as a dog might do，he seemed to think that there was nothing to fear，and he was quite satisfied to trust the kind hands that patted and fed him.
3.Little Tusky-we call him “little”because he was young，and because it sounds pretty for a pet，but he was large enough to have filled a small room，and it was well to be careful that he did not step on your toes-little Tusky was as clever with his wonderful trunk as his grown-up relations are.
4.He could pick up a needle very neatly indeed.
He always pushed it into a good position first with his foot，so that he could lay hold of it easily.Then he would take it up，and curl his trunk found，and have a good look at it，to see what he had found.
5.Tusky was not quite so dainty and noiseless as a cat in his movements，and he often got into mischief，blundering about and upsetting things；in fact，he was a much more suitable pet for the wilds of Africa than he would have been for a house in England.
6.Strange to say，this huge pet was afraid of being alone，and if he had nobody within reach to talk to him，he would cry in the most pitiful manner.So long as any human being，even one of the native children，was near him，he would be quite content；and he was as tame and friendly as any pet animal could be.
7.You would not expect an elephant to be very good at climbing.Yet when the bullock-waggon was standing still，Tusky would climb up into it，so that he might be near his master.When the caravanwasmoving forward，he would run alongside，or follow behind like a dog.
8.Poor Tusky came to a sad end，like too many pets.Somebody gave him some very unsuitable food，or else he stole it；and it disagreed with Tusky，and made him very ill.As nobody knew the proper medicine for a sick elephant，Tusky died，much to the regret of his master.
9.But he left a very pleasant memory behind him；and though he had been an awkward，lumbering sort of pet，and took up rather too much room，the poor animal could not help that.It would be well if all the elegant，graceful little English pets were as good-tempered and docileas our big African Tusky.
