Then Blackie looked at her and saw that she was growing old and feeble.
"I am young and strong," he thought. "I'll see if I cannot find some work to do. If I could bring some money home to her, she would not have to work so hard."
So next morning, bright and early, he started down to the river bank.
There he found a man who was in great trouble. There was a long line of wagons so heavily loaded that the oxen could not draw them through the shallow water.
When the man saw Blackie standing on the bank he asked, "Who owns this Elephant? I want to hire him to help my Oxen pull these wagons across the river."
A child standing near by said, "That is Granny's Blackie."
"Very well," said the man, "I'll pay two pieces of silver for each wagon this Elephant draws across the river."
Blackie was glad to hear this promise. He went into the river, and drew one wagon after another across to the other side.
Then he went up to the man for the money.
The man counted out one piece of silver for each wagon.