IF I RODE AN ELEPHANT

Elephants lend themselves better than dinosaurs to the taming influence of Young and Quackenbush, though they can't compete as power symbols with the series' earlier trucks and planes and such. In any case readers who've been satisfied with previous tours might as well see the local zoo, an Indian village and wedding procession, a Burma forest (where the animal hauls teakwood logs), a Congo game reserve and a Kenya ""motel"" (Treetops), and of course a circus parade, from atop an elephant. Along the way they'll pick up bits of information about elephant life and human customs and share some mildly ambivalent fantasies of independence. (From Siam, ""I"" would write Mother and Dad a letter about the elephant's trunk and ""when they saw how much I was learning, they'd let me stay and ride around some more."") For adventurers who prefer their safaris with guides and home comforts.