through little brooks and, once, even swimming over a small river,
for, by this time Umboo was as good a swimmer as the other elephants.

"But I don't remember swimming that river before," said Umboo to
himself, as he crawled out on the farther bank, with the branch of
palm nuts held high in his trunk. "Surely I must have come the wrong
way. I am worse lost than ever!"

And so Umboo was. But there was no help for it. He must keep on, and
he hoped, before it grew dark, that he would find the herd, and his
mother with it.

After he had swum across the river Umboo pushed on through the jungle
for a mile or more. All at once he heard, off to one side, something
crashing through the bushes much as he was doing.

"Ha! Perhaps that is another elephant!" thought Umboo. "Maybe it is my
mother or my father, or perhaps Old Tusker coming to look for me. I
shall be glad of that!

"Hello there!" cried Umboo in elephant talk. "Is that you, Mother?
Here I am, over here!"

The crashing of the bushes stopped, and a loud voice said:

"No, I am not your mother. What is the matter with you, elephant boy?"
and out of the jungle came stalking a big rhinoceros. On his head,
close to the end of his nose, grew a long, sharp horn. At first Umboo
was afraid of this horn, but the rhinoceros did not seem to be cross,
and the elephant boy went closer to him.