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The elephant is reunited with the dog.
Illustration from More Jataka Tales by Ellsworth Young (1922).
In a mountain temple in northern India, the Brethren were all seated before the mountain temple, talking amongst themselves. They had fasted for several days and were waiting for the Master to appear, so that he may impart some of his wisdom to them. They were now talking about a pair of farmers who, although not related, were very good friends. They had been friends since childhood and never seemed to argue. Whenever one of them fell on bad times, the other would help him.z
When the Master finally appeared, he asked the Brethren what they had been talking about. They told him of these two farmers, who lived in a village at the foot of the mountains.
The Master said to them, "They have been friends for a long, long time, and in many different ages. Although I could tell you the story of every age of their friendship, I will tell you perhaps the most important one."
Thus did the Master begin this tale:
Once upon a time in India, the king had mile-long stable of elephants. There were dozens of elephants. They lived an extraordinarily relaxed life. They had a wise and diplomatic king, so their country never experienced war. All they did most days was eat hay and grass and play tricks on one another. It was a happy life.
During the monsoon season, a soaking wet dog crept into the elephant stable. All of the elephants were afraid of the dog. He had sharp teeth and looked just like a wolf. Only one elephant didn’t panic when she saw the dog. This pachyderm was more intrigued by the dog than afraid of him. She went up to the dog and asked him what his name was.
“I am Rama,” he replied, shivering, obviously afraid of the huge creatures which stood in the stable. Rama thought he would be eaten.
"Rama?"
"I spent a lot of time exploring the forest as a puppy, so my pack gave me that nickname."
The elephant, being very bright, could tell that he was afraid and tired. She said to him, "My name's Hanumana, because I liked playing tricks on my brothers and sisters. Don’t be afraid. We are all vegetarians here. I’ll talk to my friends and tell them that you are a friend.”
Rama thanked her profusely.
In time the dog and the elephant became great friends. The dog slept in the elephant stable every night and they played games together every day.
One day, a farmer saw the dog by the stables and asked the elephant-keeper whether he could buy the dog. The elephant-keeper didn’t like the dog, thinking he would spread fleas to the king’s elephants, so the elephant-keeper sold the dog to the farmer for only a few rupees. Hanumana became very sad. She barely ate and barely slept.
Soon after, a war started between the king of India and the king of Hindia, a neighboring country. Soon all of the elephants were sent into battle. This was the first time Hanumana had been to war and she was extraordinarily frightened. When she arrived at the front, she saw all of the dead bodies and the dying men being carried in carts. Hanumana only wanted to go home. She had seen enough of this war.
As it turned out, Rama had been depressed since having been sold and refused to do any work. Because of this, the farmer had sold Rama to the army of Hindia.
On the second day of the battle, the elephant was walking across the field when she spied a great pack of dogs running towards her. The elephant reared up, ready to smash the dogs, not because she wanted to, but because she didn’t want the king, who was riding on her back, to be hurt.
Rama was the leader of this pack and recognized the elephant. He stopped and so did the dogs following him.
"What's wrong, captain?" one of the dogs asked.
Rama replied, "This elephant and I were good friends many years ago. I cannot fight against someone who has been so dear to me for so long."
The kings of both sides saw these animals talking and were befuddled.
The chief advisor of the king of India said to his ruler, "Truly this a miracle. If these two animals, who have been trained to kill each other, can become friends, surely you and the king of Hindia can become friends."
"You are wise," the king replied, "but why should we learn lessons from two animals?"
"Did you not learn lessons from animals in the fables of old? Did the ancient epics not describe wise and courageous animals such as Jatayu?"
The king was convinced. He called for a ceasefire and the other king agreed. The two monarchs, being very wise, talked about the issue which had caused this war. They saw that it had been a misunderstanding over borders and soon settled the issue.
These two kings decided to ally themselves, should some enemy attack them. From then on, each year, the elephant and the dog spent six months in the Indian king's palace and six months in the Hindian king's palace. The dog and the elephant never again had to go to war and they remained best friends for the rest of their days.
"So," the Master said, "these two farmers have been friends for a long time. You, Brethren, have likely guessed who that minister was. If you haven't guessed it, he is the one who has told you the story of these two great friends."
Author’s Note
For this story, I decided to adapt one of the Jataka tales. Jataka tales tell of Gautama Buddha's previous lives. Often, these stories will be framed within another (such as the Master telling the Brethren a story). They usually teach some sort of moral lesson.
In my story , I decided to elaborate on some of the circumstances surrounding the animals’ reunification. In the original story, the elephant and the dog are separated; then, the king and his minister recognize this and reunite them. In my story, the elephant and the dog must go through the terrible circumstances of war in order to find each other again.
Their reunification also offers a chance of reconciliation to the two kings. They wisely decide that if the animals of both sides can get along, then their two kingdoms can too. This serves as the moral lesson of the story. Without a proper dialogue with those you come into conflict, you're likely to make the situation much worse. By not talking out the issue, you might even hurt those around you.
This moral is somewhat different from the one in the original story (unusual friendships). Given the circumstances of these animals' reunion, the morals of reconciliation and dialogue seem more fitting within my own version of the story.
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