There once was a rare white Elephant who worked and live
with carpenters. He enjoyed living with the families and getting to play with
the children at the end of the work day.
One day a King was walking by and noticed the white
Elephant. He wanted the Elephant, thus he asked the carpenters, “How much money
will you take for your white Elephant?”
At first the carpenters refused to sale the Elephant telling
the King, “We could never sell him, he is a part of our families. Our children
would miss him dearly.”
Sadly, money spoke louder than words, and with a high enough
price the King was able to convince the carpenters to sell the white Elephant
to him.
The King took the white Elephant back to his palace where he
made sure the Elephant received the best room, the best care, and the best
food. Anything the white Elephant asked for he was given. Yet, none of the possessions
the white Elephant received could make him as happy as the King had first saw
him with his carpenter family.
The King questioned the white Elephant, “Why do you seem so
unhappy here, is there something you are missing? I can buy whatever you need,
just tell me what you would like.”
The white Elephant would deny being unhappy and would tell
the King, “You give me everything I need and more. None of this could make me
unhappy.”
Later that night the King asked his wife, “Why do you think
the white Elephant is so unhappy here? He will not give me a reason. Whatever
the problem is I am sure I can buy him something to fix it.”
The Queen smiled at her husband and told him, “Remember
dear, money cannot fix every problem but, I will talk with him tomorrow to see
if he will tell me what is wrong.”
When the Queen went to see the white Elephant, she noticed
that he did seem sad so she asked him, “Why don’t we go for a walk around the
palace so that we can get some fresh air and talk.”
As they were walking around the palace and making small talk
about the weather, the Queen noticed that the Elephant was hypnotized by the
servant children playing about. The Queen then understood what was wrong and
after the walk when to talk to the King.
That evening the King called to the white Elephant to come
out of his room because he had a surprise for him. The white Elephant attempted
to be happy as he came out, until he heard the voices of his carpenter family. The
white Elephant cheerfully exclaimed, “How did you know that I missed my family
so much? I am so happy to see them. Thank you very much.”
The King then explained, “Do not thank me but the Queen. She
helped me learn that possession cannot replace the love of the family. I want
both your family and you to know that you may visit each other as often at you
would like.”
The King was happy to have a white Elephant who was also
happy to live the rest of his life with the King and visiting his family
whenever he wanted.
Author’s Notes: This story comes from the tale of The King’sWhite Elephant from the Jataka Talesby Ellen Babbit. In the original story the white Elephant is purchased by the
King and the is said to live with him in the best of care for a long life. I
felt like the story was missing some information about how and if the white Elephant
actually wanted or enjoyed living with the King. Being purchased by a King
might have seemed like a “dream come true” because he could buy anything the
white Elephant needed but what about what money can’t buy. Even though the King
does not state that the white Elephant is not allowed to see his family, neither
takes the time to communicate with the other. I deiced to add in the Queen
character that could be more sentimental towards the loss that the Elephant was
feeling. She is able to help the King and the white Elephant in the tale, a trait
I feel most women have; always able to help clean up the messes of those they
love. I hope you have
enjoyed my story and would love to hear feedback and ideas!
Hey Ashley.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very common theme to a story. I was happy to see that you added the queen and changed the story to allow the elephant to see his family. It made for a very happy ending for everyone. I really enjoyed the story and will come back to read more of your stories.
Hi Ashely!
ReplyDeleteI too read this original story and thought about writing a story modeled after this one. You did a great job on this, and I love that you filled in the gap of knowledge from the elephant's perspective! Your overall theme and lesson was clearly executed. Great job!
Hey there again, Ashley!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really nice and refreshing story to read. I think that it contains a great message that we can all learn from. It seems that so often we get caught up with material things and we think that money can buy our happiness. While this may be true to a certain extent, it is always important to remember the people that make us happy.