Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow:
Here comes the elephant
Swaying along
With his cargo of children
All singing a song:
To the tinkle of laughter
He goes on his way
And his cargo of children
Have crowned him with may.
His legs are in leather
And padded his toes:
He can root up an oak
With a whisk of his nose;
With a wave of his trunk
And a turn of his chin
He can pull down a house,
Or pick up a pin.
Beneath his grey forehead
A little eye peers:
Of what is he thinking
Between those wide ears?
What does he feel?
If he wished to tease,
He could twirl his keeper
Over the trees:
If he were not kind,
He could play cup and ball
With Robert and Helen
And Uncle Paul:
But that grey forehead,
Those crinkled ears
Have learned to be kind
In a hundred years:
And so with the children
He goes on his way
To the tinkle of laughter
and crowded with may.
(a) Where are the children?
(b) How can the elephant tease its keeper?
(c) Which characteristic trait of the elephant enables him to be with the children?
(d) What does the poet say about the elephant's strength?
(e) How does the poet describe the elephant's legs?
(a) The children are sitting on the elephant enjoying a ride.
(b) The elephant can tease its keeper by spinning and twirling him over the trees.
(c) Elephant's kindness enables him to be with the children as suggested in the passage, He has learned to be kind in a hundred years.
(d) The poet acclaims the strength of the elephant by praising his capabilities. The elephant can pull out an oak tree just by sweeping its nose. Besides this, he can destroy a house or pick up a pin by turning his chin and waving his trunk.
(e) According to the poet, the elephant's legs are in leather with his toes padded. Legs being in leather symbolise strength and the firmness.
