“That’s just what Squinty, the comical pig, wanted to know,” spoke Mappo. “He thought they had two tails also. Ha! Ha!”
“Well, haven’t they?” asked Slicko, frisking her big tail.
“No,” answered Mappo. “Those are elephants, and they have only one tail. The short thing is their tail, and the long thing, in front of them, hanging down, is their nose.”
“Their nose!” cried Slicko. “What a funny nose!”
“It is called a trunk,” explained Mappo. “But it is really the elephant’s nose. He breathes through it, but he can also use it like a hand. He picks up what he wants to eat in it, and it is hollow, like the hose with which they fill the circus tubs, so we animals can drink. Through his hollow trunk, the elephant sucks up water, squirting it down his throat when he is thirsty.”
“What a funny animal an elephant is!” exclaimed Slicko. “And how big! Especially that first one, with the two big, white things sticking out of his mouth. What are those?”
“Those are his teeth, or tusks,” explained Mappo. “But you need not be afraid of that big elephant.”
“Why not?” asked Slicko.
“Because he is the kindest, and most jolly elephant in the whole circus,” went on Mappo the monkey. “His name is Tum Tum, and if you were to meet him you would like him very much.”