Fable View the World - English Salon. Gold Medal Reading (New Edition)

Author: Wang Shu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Elephant and the Carpenter
Many centuries ago, in a village in India next to a river, all the men learned woodworking. The five hundred men in the village had to row wooden rafts up the river to the forest. They cut down trees, dried the wood, then made beams and pillars, and finally sawed them into planks for building houses. One day, an old elephant came to the forest where the carpenters worked to seek shade from the scorching sun. When it stepped on a pile of shavings, a long piece of ebony wood pierced its foot. The elephant's foot began to fester, and each step caused excruciating pain. The elephant limped along and suddenly heard voices nearby. It followed the sound to the busy carpenters. At first, the carpenters noticed the elephant limping, then they discovered the long piece of ebony wood piercing its swollen foot. The carpenters gently removed the wood and then cut open the festering wound. After cleaning it thoroughly, the wound healed quickly.
However, the elephant did not forget the carpenters' kindness. It returned to help them with heavy labor, hauling logs, and loading timber onto the rafts. The carpenters also took good care of the elephant, taking turns sharing some of their food with it. After a busy day, the elephant went to the river to swim. The carpenters' children climbed onto the elephant's back, tugging its trunk, whistling into its ears, and playing all sorts of jokes on it. The elephant (it was an incarnation of Dharma) loved the children very much and never harmed them.
Thus, the loyal deeds of this grateful elephant quickly became well-known and famous among all. (P17-19)