Petersen Sahib gives Little Toomai a task he presumes to be impossible because, like Big Toomai, he does not think Little Toomai is ready to be an elephant catcher. As such, Little Toomai has a challenging task ahead of him; if he wants to achieve his goal, he will have to do something that has yet to be done. In this way, he is like Kotick, who was searching for an island that may or may not exist.