Another great story from Jataka Tales. Once upon a time, there was a small dog who used to sneak in the royal shed to eat some food that was kept for the royal elephant.
Soon, the elephant and the dog became very good friends. They ate together, slept together and played together. A time came when they were almost inseparable from each other.
Then one day, a farmer who came to visit the elephant-keeper, saw the dog. He liked it very much and asked the elephant keeper to sell it to him
i will sell it to you for 10 silver coins...
wow!i like this dog!can i buy it.
elephant keeper took some money from the villager and gave it to him. The king’s elephant became very sad after this incident.
He missed his friend a lot and stopped eating, drinking and even bathing.Three days had passed and the elephant had not moved an inch from his place.
look into the matter and find out what was wrong with my elephant.
nothing physically wrong with the elephant my lord...
hey eat some!!
minister think that the royal elephant is grief stricken, possibly due to the loss of a dear friend,he asked keeper know if this elephant shared a close friendship with any person or animal?”
Your Majesty, the royal elephant is fine but he is lonesome without his dear friend, the dog.
Yes, Sir! There was a dog who used to eat, sleep and play with the elephant. A stranger took him away three days ago, but I do not know where he went.