Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
HE FALL OF
ULYSSES 
AN ELEPHANT STORY
THE FALL OF ULYSSES
An Elephant Story
I cannotdeny that I wasentirely toblame for thecalamity thatovertookUlysses; and if I call attentionto the high socialand literary standing ofthe gentleman whom Iemployed as an accomplicein the affair, it isnot at all with the hope ofthereby lessening my ownresponsibility. It is certainthat I furnished theunfortunate creature thecause for his desperation.I ought also to confessthat I felt a sense ofprofound relief when heaccepted the only meansapparent to his limitedunderstanding of freeinghimself from his dilemma.But what was I to do?When a man has anelephant on his hands heshould be judged with akindly consideration forthe awkwardness of hissituation.
My elephant was decidedlymore trying thanthe average variety, forthe reason that he wasnot metaphorical, butreal. What I mean is,that I am not speaking infigurative language aboutsome officious friend ortroublesome relative, butabout a genuine Asiaticelephant, Ulysses byname, who came into mypossession several yearsago, and of whom I havebut recently managed torid myself. Physically hewas a well-developedspecimen, having nospecial characteristics todistinguish him from therest of his kind. Intellectually,however, he wasa species of monster, andI was the unfortunateFrankenstein that wasresponsible for his existence.
The purchase waseffected by a series ofcomplicated negotiations,carried on in my behalfby a half breed elephanttrainer, known as JerryRhahob, with the ownerof Ulysses. Had I undertakenthe job myself Imight have found anelephant a more expensiveluxury than I cared topossess. My agent, thehalf breed, had thereputation of knowingmore than any man inMadras about the habitsand characteristics ofelephants and the meansby which they c