all in uprooting the tree.

"There must be some way of doing it," said Umboo to himself as he
looked up at the palm nuts on top of the tree, and then he glanced at
his mother who was watching him. Of course Mrs. Stumptail herself
could easily have pulled the tree for Umboo, as it was not very large,
but she did not want to do this. Just as your mother wants you to
learn to lace your own shoes, or button them, and tie your hair
ribbons.

As he stood thinking of what best to do, Umboo scraped with his feet
in the dirt around the roots of the tree. Soon he uncovered some of
the roots. They were not a kind he liked to eat, but, as he saw the
roots laid bare, a new idea came into the head of the elephant boy.

"Ha! I know what I can do!" he said. "I can make the roots loose with
my long tusks, and then it will be easy to push the tree over with my
head. The roots won't hold it up any more!"

"That's it!" exclaimed his mother. "I was wondering how long it would
take you to think of that. And it is better that you should think of
it for yourself than that I should tell you. Now you will never
forget. So loosen the dirt around the roots, Umboo, and then see what
happens."

Kneeling down, Umboo put his tusks under the roots and pried them up,
as he used to pry the sweet ones up which he liked to eat. In a little
while he had broken many of the big roots. Then he stood up, backed
away from the tree, and rushed at it to strike it with his big head
which was like a battering-ram.