Volume 1 / Story 27

An elephant, missing his playmate, the dog, refuses to eat until the dog is restored to him.

(This story was told by the Master about a lay disciple and an aged Elder. Traditions says that there were 2 good friends, of whom one joined the Brotherhood but used to go to the other friends house everyday where his friend used to give him an alms of food and accompany him back to the monastery. They will seat talking all day till the sun sets and in turn his friend, the brother would escot him on his way home, as far as the city-gates before turning back to the monastery. The intimacy between these two was made known among the Brethrens as well as the Master. And so, the Master told this story of the past.)

In one of those days of the past, a dog used to go to the stall of the state elephant’s to eat the gobblets of rice which fell where the elephant was fed. Haunting the place for food sake, the dog grew very friendly with the elephant and at last would never eat except with him and neither could the state elephant get on without the dog. The dog used to disport himself by swinging backwards and forwards on the elephants trunk.

Now one day, a villager bought the dog of the mahout and took it home with him. From then on, the elephant, missing the dog, refused either to eat or drink or take his bath; and the king was told of it. His majesty despatched the Bodhisatta (a Minister in this life) to find out why the elephant behaved like this. Proceeding to the elephants house, the Bodhisatta seeing how sad the elephant was, said to himself,”He has no bodily ailment, he must have formed an ardent friendship and is sorrowing the loss of his friend.” So he asked whether the elephant had become friends with anyone?” “Yes, my lord” was the answer;”there’s a very warm friendship between him and the dog, but a man took it off. I think that’s why missing his friend, he refused to eat. No one knows where the man lives.”

So the Bodhisatta told the king to make a proclamation by beat of the drum, to the effect that if a man was reported to have carried off a dog which the elephant of state was fond of, then the owner of the house shall pay a penalty. The king acted on this advice; and the man who heard of it, promptly let the dog loose without hestitation. Away ran the dog at once, and made his way to the elephant. The elephant upon seeing the dog was so happy that it took the dog up in his trunk, place him on his head, wept and cried. Then setting the dog down on the ground gently, took its food only when the dog ate his first.

“After the Master ended his lesson to show the intimacy between the two friends he identified the birth connected between the them and said,”The lay-disciple was the dog of those days, the aged Elder was the elephant, and I myself the wise minister.”