"My, I s'pose Tum Tum will be so stuck up, and proud, that he won't want to speak to us, after he has done so many wonderful things," said one of the jealous elephants. "He pushed the wagon out of the mud, and now he has put out a peanut wagon fire. Some elephants have all the luck in this world."
Tum Tum's eyes twinkled, but he said nothing. He just ate the popcorn balls and peanuts. But he was not at all proud or stuck up.
Tum Tum was now such a gentle and tame elephant, that children could ride on his back. At first, some of the circus performers, who had their children with them, let them get up on Tum Tum, and then, when his keeper found that Tum Tum did not mind, some of the boys and girls who came to see the show each day were allowed to ride. Up and down the tent they went on Tum Tum's back, sitting in the little house that was strapped fast to him.
Tum Tum was led about by his keeper when the children thus rode, and very glad Tum Tum was to give the boys and girls this fun, for he liked children very much.
Tum Tum would have been very glad if Mappo, the merry monkey, had come back to ride on his back, as he did sometimes. But Mappo was far away; where, Tum Tum did not know.
Nearly every day something new happened to Tum Tum in the circus. Every day he saw new faces, new boys and girls and once in a while, he did some new tricks. He had enough to eat, a good place to sleep, he did not have to work very hard, and, best of all, he was in no danger.
So, altogether, Tum Tum liked the circus life much better than he had liked being in the jungle. Still, now and again, he would wish himself back in the cool, dark woods, smashing through the thick bushes, and breaking down, or pulling up, big trees by their roots.
In the circus were some men from India, where Tum Tum had worked in the lumber yard, piling up teakwood logs, and these Indians could talk the language spoken in India—the man-language Tum Tum had first learned. He liked to have them come to see him, rub his trunk, and talk to him in their queer words.
One day another adventure happened to Tum Tum. He was out in front of the circus tent, after he had helped roll some of the heavy animal wagons into place, when he saw some children, with their papa, coming to the circus.
"Oh, papa!" cried a little boy, "couldn't we ride on the elephant's back?" and he was so excited, this little boy was, that he danced up and down with his red balloon. All the children had these toy balloons.