tried Mrs. Bobbsey, who had been so frightened at first that she could not say a word.
"I want to get my apple," answered the little girl. "The elephant can't have it! I only wanted to let him smell how good it would taste if he could eat it."
She was stooping over now, to pick up the fruit, and the tip of the long trunk was brushing the fluffy hair on Flossie's head. Nan covered her face with her hands, and Bert looked eagerly about, as though for something to throw at the big animal.
Mr. Bobbsey was climbing over the rail that was in front of the elephant's cage, and the people around were calling and shouting. The elephant really did have the end of one of Flossie's curls on the tip of his trunk, when along came one of the keepers, or animal trainers. Somebody had sent him word that a little girl was in one of the animal cages. The keeper knew right away what to do.
"Back, Ganges!" he cried to the big elephant. "Get back there! Back! Back!"
The elephant raised his trunk high in the air, and made a funny trumpeting noise