His keeper led him up in back of the hippopotamus wagon. It was very large and heavy, and had settled far down in the soft mud of the road. The hippo was still in it, and the hippo was very heavy himself, weighing as much as two tons of coal. The circus men could not let the hippopotamus out of his cage, because he was rather wild, and might have run away or made trouble. So they had to leave him in.
"Now, Tum Tum, you have some hard work ahead of you!" said his trainer, as he led the elephant up behind the wagon. "Let me see, if you can push this out of the mud hole."
"Umph! Umph!" grunted Tum Tum through his trunk. That was his way of saying that he would do his best.
Tum Tum went close up to the wagon, and stuck his four big feet well down in the mud to brace himself. Then he put his large head against the wagon, and began to push.
Tum Tum took a long breath, and then he pushed, and pushed and pushed some more.
"He can never do it," said one of the two elephants who had tried to pull the wagon.
"Indeed he cannot," spoke the other.
"Wait and see!" grunted Tum Tum. "I have not finished yet."
He pushed harder and harder. His head was hurting him, and his feet were slipping in the mud of the road. Still he kept on pushing.
"I don't believe your elephant can do it," said one of the circus men. "We had better hitch about four of them to the wagon."