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3 the escaped elephant AFTER SOME YEARS IN A circus, an elephant escaped and returned to her jungle. As she waded into the river and took her old place there, her friends asked what her life had been like in the years of her absence. "I suppose they starved you and made you do work beyond your strength," said an old bull. The escaped elephant said, "No, it wasn't that way at all. I got better food with the circus than I ever got for myself at home; and the only work I did was walk in the parade~ balance on a ball, and beat a drum in the tent. Everybody was nice to me, especially a man named [ 4 ] Tommy who took care of me.... Poor little Tommyf He was so sweet and silly. He used to tie a pink bow on my tail, and once he painted my toenails yellow and reddened my trunk with chalk, threatening to walk me in the parade that way if I didn't behave better and eat my hay. Well, we laughed that time until our sides ached. "It was because they made so much noise," said the escaped elephant. "They were forever playing brass bands, shouting at one another, and firing off cannons for no reason at all. Men are strong enough to stand that din and confusion, but I'm not." She turned in her tracks, splashing the warm, muddy water over her hide. "The truth of the matter is," she said, "that I'm just too thin-skinned." ...

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