My training begins
I also started to work, at least that is
what I thought it was at the time. The mahout told me to
go forward, backward and to lie down. It wasnt too bad,
but he could be angry if I did not obey, and my mom would
get angry too. She was pulling smaller logs nearby the
camp, and prepared them for loading on the lorries.
Normally we worked for three hours before lunch and three
hours after lunch. Every afternoon after work we went
down to the river that ran close to the camp for bathing
and playing time. There were no other baby elephants
there, so I had to play by myself. I loved water, and
soon enough learned how to swim and to dive.Sometimes I
just lay deep in the water, with my trunk above the
surface.
I used to have a leather band around my foot, and sometimes
the mahout tied me. The band didnt feel comfortable the first
few times, but somehow I got used to it.
My mom was always tied at night in one chain to a nearby tree,
and occasionally i was also, for an hour or so.