But he did not aim right, and the bamboo slipped off from the stalk. So he tried again, and gave another jab at the stalk. In this way, after trying many times, he managed at last to hit the stalk and break it. Down fell the bunch of bananas to the ground. Meanwhile Salar was jumping around his father for joy. But his father told him to keep still. He had not succeeded in getting those bananas yet! How could he get them out of the place of danger? It puzzled him a long time. He poked at the bunch with the bamboo, but that only broke off one or two of the bananas. Then he poked at the stalk of the bunch, but the end of the bamboo slipped off it, as there was nothing on the bamboo to grip the stalk with. So he drew back the bamboo and looked at that end of it, to see why it did not grip the stalk. Of course the end of the bamboo was all smooth, and could not grip anything at all. _Elephant Tricks the Tricky Trappers_ Then at last another thought seemed to come into the wise old elephant's head. He put that end of the bamboo into his mouth and began to _chew_ it; for an elephant has very strong teeth at the back of his mouth. As his mouth was very big, that clever elephant chewed as much of the end of the bamboo as his mouth would hold--and that was as long as your arm. So the end of the bamboo became like fibers, that is, like a bunch of hair, only very thick and rough. [Illustration: Elephant Pulling Bananas out of a Tricky Trap] Then that cunning elephant sat down on the ground and pushed the bamboo along the ground straight before him toward the bananas. When the hairy end of the bamboo reached the stalk of the bananas, he began to _twist_ the other end of the bamboo with the tips of his trunk; for _an elephant can use the tips of his trunk in the same way that you use your fingers_. He twisted and twisted many times, taking care to keep the hairy end of the bamboo pressed against the stalk of the bananas. In this way the hairy end of the bamboo got knotted around the stalk. That was just what the wise old elephant wanted. Then he pulled the bamboo slowly along the ground, as you see in the picture, taking care to give one or two more twists in case the knots came undone. He pulled the bamboo lap by lap; that is, he pulled the bamboo for about a yard, then he let go and took hold of the bamboo farther up; he pulled again for another yard, and so on. In this way he at last pulled the bunch of bananas quite out of the trap. I need not tell you how he and Salar enjoyed that feast! And the hunters, who were hiding in the trees around, laughed and laughed at the trick the wily old elephant had played on them! For, as you see, he got the bananas and yet escaped from that trap! He beat the men at their own game! But now I must tell you about other animals,--first about buffaloes. They are the brave knights who helped that timid little lady, the blue deer. They are just as wonderful as the elephants, in their own way. CHAPTER VI