Indonesia
The Friendship of Dog and Elephant
What the elephant didn’t know, a wild dog came by to its cage every so often. The dog came looking for the wasted food thrown by the elephant keeper. The dog came every day, waiting for some remains to fill its stomach. It went that way after one day the elephant became aware. Eventually the two became close friends.
The elephant couldn’t let its friend to eat remains. It cut the food in half portion and waiting for the dog to come before they eat together. When the elephant went to sleep, the dog would sleep next to it. If the elephant wanted to play, it would catch the dog, swing it with its trunks. The best friend across species were happy.
One day, a breeder came by and saw the dog. He asked the elephant keeper, “I would like to buy the dog. It seems nice and smart. How much is it?” The keeper who was short of money didn’t wait for the second offer. So the breeder walked away with the dog.
The next day, the king’s elephant lost its appetite when the dog didn’t show up to dine together. It refused to be washed too. It went the same the next day. On the third day, the keeper went to the king to give report about the condition of its elephant. A royal messenger came to the cage to check what was going on.
“There seemed to be no physical problem with the elephant. But why it looked so down? Did it loose a friend to play with?” The keeper remembered the dog. “Yes, someone bought its dog friend three days ago. I don’t have any idea where it may be now,” the keeper regretted it. The royal messenger went back to the castle with report that the elephant was fine. It just got lonely.
The king immediately made an announcement to the kingdom. Should the breeder be willing to return the dog back to the elephant’s cage, a handsome reward is waiting to compensate him. Sure enough the breeder got interested. He returned the wild dog back to the elephant’s cage.
The two best friend reunited and very happy. The elephant lifted the dog over its head and carried it around. When the caretaker came with the food, the elephant shared it with the dog as usual. They ate together and never got separated ever since.
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTOS
