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that they were so hot that they would burn, they
did not want to approach the men any more, the way they had been trained to do,
because they feared the fire.
For they thought that they (their opponents) would be as hot as the copper that was filled with fire.
And in this way King Alexander, as a wise prince, avoided the peril
and danger of the elephants and conquered this
savage people. And he tamed the elephants in such a way that
they did not dare bring harm to men. The elephants [now] go along
very simply and harmoniously together,
and when they meet they lower their heads,
one to the other, as though they are greeting
each other. They are very cold by nature. As a result,
if one puts a linen cloth onto an ivory tooth and then puts
burning coals on top, the cloth will not burn.
For as soon as the coal senses this coldness it extinguishes --
the ivory is that cold. Elephants only calve
once in a long while, and they carry their calfs for two
years in gestation. An elephant lives three hundred years. It
is scared of mice and snakes and fears vermin.
If a snake attaches itself to the elephant, the elephant will fight it and will