“Meantime elephant No. 1, chuckling to himself very conceitedly, proceeded to the pool near by to bathe and cool himself. At every step he went you could hear this: ‘Ha, ha, ha! Lo! I have killed a lion.’ While he was in the pool, spurting the water in a shower over his back, he suddenly looked up, and at the water’s edge beheld a grown lion and lioness regarding him sternly.
“‘Well, what do you want?’ he asked. ‘Why are you standing there looking at me?’
“‘Are you the rogue who killed our child?’ they asked.
“‘Perhaps I am,’ he answered. ‘Why do you want to know?’
“‘Because we are in search of him. If it be you that did it, you will have to do the same to us before you leave this ground.’
“‘Ho! ho!’ laughed the elephant loudly. ‘Well, hark! It was I who killed your cub. Come now, it was I. Do you hear? And if you do not leave here mighty quick, I shall have to serve you both as I served him.’
“The lions roared aloud in their fury, and switched their tails violently.
“‘Ho, ho!’ laughed the elephant gayly. ‘This is grand! There is no doubt I shall run soon, they make me so skeery;’ and he danced round the pool, and jeered at them, then drank a great quantity of water and blew it in a shower over them.
“The lions stirred not, but kept steadfastly gazing at him, planning how best to attack him.
“Perceiving that they were obstinate, he threw another stream of water over the lions and then backed into the deepest part of the pool, until there was nothing seen of him but the tip of his trunk. When he arose again the lions were still watching him and had not moved.