Toomai of the Elephants

Illustration by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father)

"Toomai of the Elephants" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling about a young elephant-handler. It was first published in the December 1893 issue of St. Nicholas magazine and reprinted in the collection of Kipling short stories, The Jungle Book (1894).[1] The character Petersen Sahib is thought to be modelled on India-born English naturalist George P. Sanderson (1848–1892).[2]

The story was filmed in 1937 as Elephant Boy directed by Robert Flaherty and Zoltan Korda, starring Sabu. The story was also produced in 1973 as the TV series Elephant Boy starring Esrom Jayasinghe.

  1. ^ "Toomai of the Elephants". Reader's Guide. The Kipling Society. Retrieved 17 March 2013. Notes edited by Alan Underwood and John Radcliffe
  2. ^ Tasker, Sir Theodore (1971). "Petersen sahib". The Kipling Journal. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007.