Toomai of the Elephants

You are Little Toomai, a ten-year-old boy living in the elephant camps of India. Your best friend is not a boy, but a giant elephant named Kala Nag (Black Snake). He has served the government for forty-seven years and is afraid of nothing—except you.

While your father, Big Toomai, wants to stay safe in the brick lines of the plains, you love the wild jungle hills. You watch Kala Nag eating his fodder as the sun sets over the Garo hills. The big elephant looks restless tonight.

"He is afraid of me," you say to yourself, looking up at his massive trunk. "But he is also my friend."