"There! See how easy it is!" said his mother.

Then Umboo chewed the sweet root, but he did not swallow the hard,
woody part. That would not have been good for him.

"Oh, but this is sweet!" he cried, shutting his eyes as he chewed
away. "This is the sweetest root I ever ate."

"And you dug it up yourself! That is best part of it," said his
mother. "You have learned to do something for yourself. Now, when you
find yourself alone in the jungle, if you should stray away from the
rest of the herd, you will know how to get something to eat. You have
learned something."

"Is this all I have to learn?" Umboo wanted to know.

"Indeed not!" cried his mother. "There are many more things that you
must know. But one thing at a time. A little later I will show you how
to pull down a big tree, when there are palm nuts, or sweet branches,
growing near the top, which you cannot reach, no matter how you try.
Pulling trees down will be the next lesson. But dig up some more
roots."

"I will dig some for you," said Umboo.

"Excuse me for not giving you some of the first ones I dug."

"Oh, that's all right," said Mrs. Stumptail. "I wanted you to learn,
but you may give me some of the next ones you pry up."