The Stolen White Elephant
- The Stolen White Elephant
"The Stolen White Elephant" is a short story written by Mark Twain and published in 1882 by James R. Osgood. In this short story an Indian elephant, en route from India to Britain as a gift to the Queen, disappears in New Jersey. The local police department goes into high gear to solve the mystery but it all comes to a tragic end.
The main characters of the story include:
* Mark Twain, who functions as the initial speaker and author of the story.
* An elderly Indian gentleman who had at one time spoken to Twain during a train ride; he was once a member of his nation’s civil service and in charge of transporting the white elephant.
* Chief Inspector Blunt, a detective who is in charge of finding the lost elephant; he first receives the report of the elephant’s disappearance.
* “Hassan Ben Ali Ben Selim Abdallah Mohammed Moist Alhammal Jamsetjejeebhoy Dhuleep Sultan Ebu Bhudpoor” or “Jumbo”, the white elephant
* Alaric, a young worker at the detectives’ office.
* Captain Burns, another employee of the Detectives’ office; he is in charge of carrying out Inspector Blunt’s orders.
* The Queen of England plays a nonspeaking role.
* The Emperor of India plays a nonspeaking role.
* A number of other detectives, servants and civilians also play minor roles in the story.
External links
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3181 'The Stolen White Elephant' text on Project Gutenberg]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/twainwhiteelephant Recording of 'The Stolen White Elephant' on Internet Archive]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
White elephant gift exchange — A white elephant gift exchange is a popular holiday party game found primarily in North America. It has many variations in both the name and the game play. Generally, white elephant parties need a minimum of six participants. With a larger group … Wikipedia
The Innocents Abroad — The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims Progress … Wikipedia
The Awful German Language — is an 1880 essay by Mark Twain published as Appendix D in A Tramp Abroad.[1] The essay is a humorous exploration of the frustrations a native English speaker has with learning German as a second language. Contents 1 Background 2 Text … Wikipedia
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer — This article is about the novel. For other uses, see Tom Sawyer (disambiguation). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer … Wikipedia
The Prince and the Pauper — This article is about the original 1881 novel. For various film adaptations, see The Prince and the Pauper (film). The Prince and the Pauper … Wikipedia
The Mysterious Stranger — This article is about the unfinished work by Mark Twain. For the 1921 film, see The Mysterious Stranger (film). For the David Blaine book, see Mysterious Stranger. The Mysterious Stranger … Wikipedia
White Ranger — The White Ranger is a designation given to several characters in Power Rangers. A white ranger can be either male or female. Before Power Rangers Dino Thunder , female White Rangers are always a member of the core five Rangers, while male White… … Wikipedia
Old Times on the Mississippi — 1st Canadian edition, 1876 Old Times on the Mississippi is a non fiction work by Mark Twain. It was published in 1876. External links Online text from the Documenting the American South … Wikipedia
The Girl from Maxim's — Directed by Alexander Korda Produced by Alexander Korda Ludovico Toeplitz Written by Georges Feydeau (play) Harry Graham Arthur Wimperis … Wikipedia
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan — Infobox Television show name = The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan caption = The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan title card. genre = Cartoon series creator = director = William Hanna Joseph Barbera developer = presenter = starring = voices = (See… … Wikipedia
