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

它们大小不一，有的背着驯象师或轿子。

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

驯象中至关生要的是指派一名专门的驯象员，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.

这种极端的事例虽不可全信，但强调了一项基本原则，象和驯象员之间的关系是驯象成功与否的关健。