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Transcriber's note


On page 156 are macrons for the letters "o" and "e"; these are
represented by [=o] and [=e] respectively. Printer errors have been
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[Illustration: Elephants at Work

From a photograph copyrighted by the Keystone View Co.]




  _HEATH SUPPLEMENTARY READERS_


  THE WONDERS OF
  THE JUNGLE

  PRINCE SARATH GHOSH

  Book Two

  [Illustration]

  D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY

  BOSTON  NEW YORK   CHICAGO  ATLANTA
  DALLAS     SAN FRANCISCO     LONDON




  COPYRIGHT, 1918,
  BY D. C. HEATH & CO.

  3 B 1



  PRINTED IN U.S.A.




TO THE CHILDREN


My dear, I am now going to tell you many more Wonders of the Jungle, as
I promised to do in Book I.

In that Book, as you will remember, I promised to tell you more about
the elephants and about the laws of their herd. So I shall do so now.

Then I shall tell you about some animals which I did not describe in
Book I. Among these you may like to know especially about the tiger, the
lion, the leopard, and the wolf.

You may like to know how really _clever_ some of these animals are, and
how some of them have _affections_, just as we have.

But while you are reading about them, you must try to _think_. Then you
will understand _why_ these animals do certain things. And that will
show how clever _you_ are!

I have used a few new words in this Book. But I am sure you know them
already.

Now I shall begin with the laws of the elephants.




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                                                            PAGE

     I. THE ELEPHANT HERD A REPUBLIC                                   1
        The Duties of the President                                2
        He Must Provide Daily Food                                 3
        He Must Provide Daily Drink                                9
        He Must Keep Order in the Herd                            12
        He Must Avoid Danger from Outside                         18

    II. WAR AND NEUTRALITY IN THE JUNGLE                              26
        Wise Elephant Leader Avoids War                           27
        Wise Elephant Leader Keeps Neutral                        29
        When it is Impossible to Remain Neutral                   29

   III. THE POLICEMEN OF THE ELEPHANT HERD                            31

    IV. THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED ELEPHANT                         39
        The Princes and the Bad Elephant                          40
        The Trial of the Criminal Elephant--as in a Court of Law  55
        The Infliction of the Punishment                          57
        The Rogue Elephant                                        61
        The Brand of the Rogue                                    63
        The Reward of Repentance                                  64

     V. FLESH-EATING ANIMALS: THE FELINES, OR THE CAT TRIBE           66
        The Feline has Strong Fangs                               67
        The Feline's Tongue is Rough                              68
        The Feline's Claws are Retractile                         68
        The Feline has Padded Paws                                71

    VI. THE TIGER                                                     73
        The Life History of the Tiger Family                      78
        The Tiger's Family Dinner                                 83

   VII. THE TIGER CUBS' LESSONS                                       87
        Tiger Cubs Learn to Kill Prey, After their
          Parents have Caught It                                  88
        Tiger Cubs Take Part in Hunt to Catch Prey                90
        Tiger Cubs Learn to Catch Prey by Themselves              91

  VIII. THE TIGRESS MOTHER'S SPECIAL DUTIES                           97
        The Truce of the Water Hole                              100

    IX. THE SPECIAL QUALITIES OF TIGER AND TIGRESS                   102
        Both Tiger and Tigress Defend Their Cubs                 104
        The Tiger Family's Lost Dinner                           110
        The Tiger as a Heroic Husband                            116

     X. THE LION                                                     128
        The Lion Has the Fangs, the Tongue, the Claws,
          and the Paws of a Cat                                  132
        How the Lion is Different from Other Cats                138

    XI. THE LION'S DAILY LIFE                                        142

   XII. THE LION A NOBLE ANIMAL                                      156
        Androcles and the Lion                                   156
        The Lady and the Lioness                                 163

  XIII. THE LEOPARD                                                  168
        The Leopard's Ground Color and Spots                     169
        Why the Leopard has Spots                                170

   XIV. THE LEOPARD'S HABITS                                         176
        The Panther: Popular Name For Large Leopard              180
        How the Leopard Seizes his Prey                          181
        The Leopard's One Amiable Quality--He Loves Perfumes     182
        The Leopard and the Lavender                             183

    XV. AMERICAN LEOPARD: THE JAGUAR                                 188

   XVI. THE DOG TRIBE                                            194
        The American Gray Wolf                                   196
        The American Wolf Learns to Evade the Gun                200
        The American Wolf Learns to Evade the Trap               202
        The American Wolf Learns to Evade the Poison             205




ILLUSTRATIONS


  ELEPHANTS AT WORK                                   _Frontispiece_

                                                                PAGE

  ELEPHANT LEADING HERD THROUGH THE JUNGLE                         5

  TRAINED ELEPHANTS AT THE COURT OF A KING                        23

  ELEPHANTS GUARDING A BAD ELEPHANT                               33

  POLICEMEN ELEPHANTS ARRESTING A CRIMINAL ELEPHANT               45

  GOOD ELEPHANT HEADING OFF A CRIMINAL ELEPHANT                   51

  TIGER                                                           75

  TIGER PROTECTING HIS CUB                                       107

  TIGER CHARGING HUNTING PARTY                                   121

  GROUP OF LIONS                                                 129

  PUMA                                                           129

  AFRICAN LION                                                   133

  GIRAFFES                                                       147

  KANGAROO                                                       147

  ANDROCLES AND THE LION                                         161

  LEOPARD                                                        171

  JAGUAR                                                         171

  THE CHAIN OF CONFLICT IN THE JUNGLE                            191

  GRAY WOLF                                                      197




THE WONDERS OF THE JUNGLE




CHAPTER I

The Elephant Herd a Republic


An elephant herd is a kind of republic, something like the United States
of America, only much smaller and much simpler. So its leader is a sort
of president. He is usually the wisest elephant in the herd.

You may like to know how the elephants choose their president. I shall
tell you how they do that.

But you must first consider how the people of the United States choose
_their_ President. They find out who among their important men is best
able to lead them in all the great duties of the nation. Then they
choose _him_.

But if afterward they find that he is _not_ leading the nation in the
wisest manner, then the people of the United States choose another man
to be their President the next time.

The elephants in a herd do something like that. They first follow the
elephant who, they think, is best able to lead them. But if afterward
they find that he is not leading them through the jungle in the right
way, and that another elephant could lead them in a better manner, then
they follow him instead. He then becomes the president of the herd.

"But what is the best way of leading the herd through the jungle?" you
may ask.

I shall now tell you about that. The best way to lead the herd is _to
satisfy all their needs_. So the president of the herd has four great
duties.


_The Duties of the President_

First Duty: He must lead the herd in such a manner that all the
elephants will get enough _food to eat_ every day.

Second Duty: He must lead the herd in such a manner that all the
elephants will get enough _water to drink_ every day.

Third Duty: He must _keep order_ in the herd, and not allow any naughty
elephant to fight or quarrel.

Fourth Duty: He must guide the elephants in such a manner as to _avoid
all danger from outside_; and if such danger does happen to come, he
must guard the herd from that danger.

I shall now tell you about these four duties more fully.


_He Must Provide Daily Food_

Elephants are such large animals that they need a great amount of food.
So they have to walk a long way every day, munching the leaves of the
trees as they go.

They walk in line, one behind another, as that is the easiest method of
walking through the thick jungle; for then one gap through the jungle is
enough for all the elephants to go through, one at a time, and they need
not make a different gap for each elephant.

Now you will understand that if that one gap is big enough for the
_largest_ elephant to go through, it is of course big enough for _all_
the elephants to go through. So, if the largest elephant walks first, in
front of the line of elephants, he can force a way through the thick
jungle that will be big enough for all the other elephants who come
behind him.

So usually the largest and strongest bull elephant is the leader of the
herd--if he also has the other qualities of a president, which I shall
presently describe more fully. To have all the qualities of a president,
he must not only be strong, but also wise and clever. Why? Because even
in merely going through the jungle a wise leader avoids many
difficulties. It might be that the jungle straight ahead was very thick,
and it would be hard to force a way through it; but by turning a little
to the right or to the left, an easier passage could be made. This a
wise leader would find out, and then turn in that direction.

Again, in the jungle, the ground is sometimes too soft; it might be made
of clay which had become soft owing to rain a few days before. But
elephants are such heavy animals that they cannot go far over soft
ground, as their feet would sink in too deep. And the ground might be
covered with bushes or tall grass, so that the elephants