Buddha (The concept) -- Juvenile literature; Buddhism -- Juvenile literature; Buddhist legends
Then the Buddha promised that he would plead her cause, and appearing
before the King, he asked: “Great King, did not a She-Elephant covered
with weapons do battle for thee; and on such and such a day, with a
writing upon her neck, did she not go a hundred leagues on a message?
Thou didst bestow upon her great honor. I pray thee tell me, where is
she now?”
And the King, in some confusion, made answer: “Behold, she is yoked to a
cart.”
Then did the Buddha speak in sorrowful anger to the King, and rebuked
him, saying: “Thou hast yoked this Elephant to a cart after all the
services she has rendered. Then was the honor only bestowed because of
more services expected?”
And all who heard him received his instruction, and the King restored
the She-Elephant to her former place of honor.
THE FAITHFUL FRIEND
Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, the Bodisat became
his Minister.
At that time a dog used to go to the state elephant’s stable, and feed
on the lumps of rice which fell where the elephant fed. Being attracted
there by the food, he soon became great friends with the elephant, and
used to eat close by him. At last neither of them was happy without the
other; and the dog used to amuse himself by catching hold of the
elephant’s trunk, and swinging to and fro.
But one day there came a peasant who gave the elephant-keeper money for
the dog, and took it back with him to his village. From that time the
elephant, missing the dog, would neither eat nor drink nor bathe. And
they let the King know about it.
He sent the Bodisat, saying: “Do you go, Pandit, and find out what’s the
cause of the elephant’s behavior.”
So he went to the stable, and seeing how sad the elephant looked, said
to himself: “There seems to be nothing bodily the matter with him. He
must be so overwhelmed with grief by missing some one, I should think,
who had become near and dear to him.” And he asked the elephant-keepers:
“Is there any one with whom he is particularly intimate?”
“Certainly, Sir! There was a dog of whom he was very fond indeed.”
“Where is it now?”
“Some man or other took it away.”
“Do you know where the man lives?”
“No, Sir!”
Then the Bodisat went and told the King. “There’s nothing the matter
with the elephant, your majesty; but he was great friends with a dog,
and I fancy it’s through missing it that he refuses his food.”
When the King heard what he said, he asked what was now to be done.
“Have a proclamation made, O King, to this effect: 'A man is said to
have taken away a dog of whom our state elephant was fond. In whose
house soever that dog shall be found, he shall be fined so much!’”
The King did so; and, as soon as he heard of it, the man turned the dog
loose. The dog hastened back, and went close up to the elephant. The
elephant took him up in his trunk and placed him on his forehead, and
wept and cried, and took him down again, and watched him as he fed. And
then he took his own food.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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