"Oh, can't you keep quiet?" asked Woo-Uff, the lion, in his deep,
rumbly voice. "Let Umboo alone! He'll tell us what happened."

"Oh, I beg your pardon," said Chako. "I was so anxious that I could
hardly wait to hear. We monkeys are very much afraid of snakes, you
know."

"So I have heard," said Woo-Uff. "Please go on, Umboo."

So Umboo told the rest of his story.

In the jungle he stood, with one foot raised, ready to crush the big
snake.

"Please do not step on me!" hissed the snake, for that was his way of
talking. "Please do not put your big foot on me, elephant boy!"

"But I am afraid you will bite me," said Umboo.

"No, I'll not do that," answered the snake. "I do sometimes bite, when
I am hungry, but I am not hungry now. Besides, you are quite too big
to bite."

"Oh, ho, if you feel that way about it, all right," said Umboo, and he
put his foot down, but not on the snake. "There are much larger
elephants though, than I am. I wish I could see some of them now. Tell
me," he asked the hissing serpent, "did you see anything of the
elephant herd on your travels through the jungle?"

"No, not exactly," the snake made answer. "But, as you were kind