They were of different sizes, and some had their mahouts or palanquins on their backs.

它们大小不一，有背着象师或轿子。

The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job.

象中关生指派一名专门象员，全面负责这项工作。

Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt, but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.

这种极端事例虽不可全信，但强调了一项基本原则，象和象员之间关系象成功与否关健。