It was good luck for him that he did not get into trouble, because at first he did not learn except from his own experience. Elephants and people who depend upon experience alone often get into trouble.
幸运的是，他没有陷入困境，因为一开始他除了从自己的经验中学习之外，什么也没学到。大象和仅仅依靠经验的人往往会陷入困境。
After a time, because as I said, he was a wise elephant even when he was young, he learned from the experiences of others, from those he saw and those he heard about. But in the beginning it was just luck that saved him. For instance, there was the adventure with the crocodile. Ever since he could remember, his mother had always been cautioning him not to put his trunk in the river to drink until he had looked out for crocodiles. His mother always used to wade in the stream and cast her bright beady eyes upstream and down and thrash around a bit; then she would put her trunk swiftly into the river and drink in the delicious water.
过了片刻，这头大象从别人的经验中学习，从他所看到的和所听到的中学习，因为就像我说的，他年轻的时候就是一头聪明的大象。但一开始，是运气救了他。例如，有一个关于鳄鱼的冒险故事。从他记事起，他的母亲就一直告诫他，把他的鼻子放到河里去喝水时要小心鳄鱼。他的母亲总是在河里趟着水，那双明亮的、亮晶晶的眼睛上上下下地扫视着周围；然后，她会把鼻子迅速投入河里，喝在美味的水。
But Kubwa never saw any sense in waiting for something he wanted. So one day he scrambled out of the line of march and ran on ahead toward the river. Another little elephant ran along with him, because a bad example is as contagious as the measles. Down to the bend in the stream went Kubwa, and in went his trunk. Down went the other elephant, and in went his trunk. And suddenly the other elephant gave a gurgling cry of fright and then a shrill, terror-stricken squeal. Something under water had seized that trunk in its firm jaws and was pulling him in.
但是，库布瓦认为，等待他想要的东西没有任何意义。于是有一天，他从队伍里爬出来，朝河边跑去。另一只小象跟着他跑，因为坏榜样像麻疹一样会传染。库伯瓦走下河湾，把他的鼻子放了进去。另一头大象走了下来，它的鼻子也进去了。突然，另一头大象发出了一声由于害怕而发出的咯咯的叫声，接着是一声尖叫，惊恐万分。水下的什么东西用结实的下颚咬住了象鼻，把他拉了进去。
