Week 11 Story: The Loyal Carpenters

Along the bank of the Krishna River in Central India lived a village of carpenters.  These carpenters had inhabited the area for hundreds of years and made a profit by selling their wooden goods to all of the nearby towns and villages.

Each and every day, these carpenters went into the jungle to cut down trees.  One day when they were out, they heard a huge rustle in the brush nearby.  The sound grew louder and louder until eventually a massive elephant appeared.  Something was off about this creature though.  He was limping on three legs.

The elephant approached the carpenters and uttered, "Do you think you could help me?  I have a large splinter in my food and cannot get it out.  Will you take it out for me?"

The carpenters replied saying, "Of course, anything to help those who also call this jungle home."

The carpenters removed the splinter, and the elephant was very grateful.  The elephant was so grateful in fact that he decided he would help the carpenters with their work.

Every day the elephant helped the carpenters take down trees and transport them to wherever they needed to go.  He became great friends with the carpenters too and their work environment improved because of him.  The carpenters always provided the elephant with food as well.

The elephant worked for the carpenters for 30 years and realized that he would not be able to work for much longer.  He had a son who was starting to grow into the most beautiful elephant in all of India.  He had shiny white skin, large muscles, and long ivory tusks.

The elephant decided to take his son to work so that his son could continue to work when he no longer could.  The young elephant picked up on the job quickly.

Years down the road the elephant's son and all of the carpenters' sons were working at an even higher rate than their fathers.  They loved this life and this friendship they had built.

A king came through the jungle one day and saw the beautiful elephant working for the carpenters.  He immediately wanted the elephant and offered a large price for him.

The carpenters gathered together and decided they could not send away their best friend.  They kindly declined the kings offer and the king, who was a reasonable man, understood.

Authors Note

In this story I basically retold The King's White Elephant but added a twist at the very end.  In the original story, the carpenters sold the white elephant to the king.  The king treated the elephant well, but I wondered if the elephant missed the carpenters that had been so good to him and his father.  It seemed a little strange to me that the carpenters would sell a friend.  I changed the ending to the story to highlight the value of friendship and loyalty.

Bibliography

The King's White Elephant by Ellen C. Babbitt
Image Information: The Working Elephant: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Babbitt Part B

The King's White Elephant

The bank of a river located in a large forest was home to many carpenters.
These carpenters traveled on the river in boats looking for trees to turn into lumber.
One day while they were out, and elephant came to them limping on three legs.
The fourth foot that was in the air was swollen and sore.
This was due to a large splinter.
The carpenters pulled the splinter out of the elephant's foot.
They also washed the elephant's foot so that the wound would heal quickly.
The elephant was thankful for the nice act that the carpenters had done.
He wanted to return the favor.
The elephant helped the carpenters pull down trees and carry goods.
All the while, the carpenters gave the elephant food to eat.
The elephant had a son who was young, strong, and white in color.
The elephant was growing old and knew that soon he would no longer be able to help the carpenters.
The elephant decided to bring his son to work so that his son could learn what he does.
That way his son could continue to help the carpenters.
The elephant told his son how the carpenters treated him well when he was injured.
So the son helped the carpenters and they fed him just like they fed his father.
The carpenters sons and the elephants son became good friends.
One day after work, they all played in the river together.
The young elephant would pick up the kids with his trunk and put them in trees or on his back.
A king came through the forest one day and say the beautiful elephant working for the carpenters.
He wanted the elephant so he paid them a good price for him.
The king treated the elephant well for as long as they both were alive.

I guess this is a story for how elephants came to live under human captivity.  Kind of cool!

Bibliography

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
Image Information: The King on His White Elephant: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Babbitt Part A

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life

A king had a lake put into the courtyard of his castle.
This lake was for his daughter, the young princess, to play around in.
One day the king asked his boys to put fish in the lake.
The boys went and found fish, but with the fish was a turtle.
None of them had ever seen a turtle before and ended up thinking it was a demon.
The returned to the king crying a told him that there was a demon in the lake.
He told the boys to bring the demon back to him.
The boys got the turtle planned to kill it.
They kept coming up with plans.
An old man told them that they should throw it into the part of the lake that is flowing over a bunch of rocks.
The turtle begged them not to and said that this was the worst punishment of all.
He knew that the boys wanted the worst for him so he told them not to do the one thing that he actually wanted them to do.
The boys threw him in the water and he traveled safely home.

The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking

A Turtle who lived at the bottom of a hill met two Geese one day.
After a short amount of time they became good friends.
The Geese wanted the Turtle to come home with them
The Turtle asked how he could go with them because he has no wings.
The Geese offered to take them as long as he didn't tell anybody about it.
The Geese grabbed a stick and held it between them.
They told the Turtle to bite the stick and hold on.
The Geese and Turtle flew over a village and the children made fun of them.
The Turtle, defending himself said, "Well, and if my friends carry me, what business is that of yours?"
He fell to his death at the feet of the children.

Bibliography

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
Image Information: The Falling Turtle: Wikimedia Commons