I say that is wisdom ; but , on the other hand , my cousin , the Gavial , lives among his people . MY people do not swim in companies , with their mouths out of the water , as Rewa does ; nor do they constantly rise to the surface of the water , and turn over on their sides , like Mohoo and little Chapta ; nor do they gather in shoals after flood , like Batchua and Chilwa . '' `` All are very good eating , '' said the Adjutant , clattering his beak . `` So my cousin says , and makes a great to-do over hunting them , but they do not climb the banks to escape his sharp nose . MY people are otherwise . Their life is on the land , in the houses , among the cattle . I must know what they do , and what they are about to do ; and adding the tail to the trunk , as the saying is , I make up the whole elephant . Is there a green branch and an iron ring hanging over a doorway ? The old Mugger knows that a boy has been born in that house , and must some day come down to the Ghaut to play . Is a maiden to be married ? The old Mugger knows , for he sees the men carry gifts back and forth ; and she , too , comes down to the Ghaut to bathe before her wedding , and -- he is there . Has the river changed its channel , and made new land where there was only sand before ? The Mugger knows . '' `` Now , of what use is that knowledge ? '' said the Jackal . `` The river has shifted even in my little life . '' Indian rivers are nearly always moving about in their beds , and will shift , sometimes , as much as two or three miles in a season , drowning the fields on one bank , and spreading good silt on the other . `` There is no knowledge so useful , '' said the Mugger , `` for new land means new quarrels . The Mugger knows . Oho !
the XXXXX knows .
Chapta Chilwa Indian Mohoo Mugger Rewa beak day flood silt