Min Yu Wai, University of Win Mon - Asian Stories

Once upon a time, there were many elephants living in a forest. Among them, two mother elephants were special. The baby elephant was young and strong, and white and very beautiful. The mother elephant was old and weak, and her eyes were also weak.

The white elephant is clever and understands the kindness of its parents. Therefore, it takes care of its blind mother with all its might. The old blind mother is unable to find food or drink, so the white elephant finds food and feeds her.

While searching for food, the other elephants often ate and drank the food that the white elephant brought, and the old mother could not eat enough. Therefore, the white elephant begged the other elephants not to eat the food that the white elephant brought for the old mother. However, the elephants did not listen to the white elephant's words. They forced them to eat. Eventually, the white elephant could not stand it anymore, so he took the old mother and went to live in a cave away from the other elephants.

The cave where the mother elephant lives is good. There is a pond nearby. There are also fruit trees and bamboo trees. The white elephant can find food well and can also take care of its old blind mother. Only when it reaches there can the mother elephant feel at peace.

After living peacefully like this, one day the white elephant heard a human scream. The white elephant said, "I hear a mother screaming. It must be a human scream. It seems like the poor thing is in trouble."

The elephant replied, "Yes, my son, it is the sound of a human being. But I keep a distance from people. People are not kind. They are cruel. I don't care what kind of trouble they are in, my son."

The white elephant was very compassionate. Although the mother elephant forbade him to do so, he did not listen. He quietly went to the place where he heard the noise, so that his mother would not know.

Then he saw a man crying and wailing near the pond. The little white elephant asked him, "Friend, why are you crying and wailing?"

The man pleaded, "Friend White Elephant, I have been wandering in the forest for 7 days. I have not been able to eat properly. I do not know how to return to my city or village. If you have mercy on me, please save me. Please show me the way."

The white elephant fed him with fruit. Then he let him ride on his back and carried him until he reached the road leading to the village. The man thanked the white elephant and left the village peacefully.

The white elephant returned to his mother's cave and told her about the success. "Mother, I saved the man who was in trouble. I am so happy and contented," he said.

Shortly after this rescue, the white elephant suffered a misfortune.

The man who saved the white elephant arrived in the capital, but soon the king's white elephant died. The king wanted the white elephant and searched the whole city for it. But no white elephant was found. Then the king announced a large reward for anyone who could bring him the white elephant.

The man who saved the white elephant was not a good man. He was greedy. He did not know his gratitude. He told the king that he had found a very beautiful white elephant, that he knew where it grazed, and that if he went with the elephant hunters to capture it, he would surely get it, and that he would lead and guide him there.

The king was delighted and sent elephant catchers after him. Soon they found a white baby elephant foraging near a pond. They immediately surrounded him and captured him. The white baby elephant struggled in their hands, causing him great sorrow.

"I am like this because I did not listen to my mother. If I had not saved this ungrateful fool, I would have been fine. Now, because I saved him, my mother and I are suffering. Without me, how would my blind mother find food? If she cannot find food, she will soon starve to death."

Thinking like this, the white elephant went to the city where the elephant mahouts took him.

The king was overjoyed when he saw the white elephant. Unlike the previous elephants, this one was whiter and more beautiful. More graceful and full of grace. So he gave a reward to the ungrateful man who had saved the elephant. Then he put the white elephant in a good place and fed it with good food.

Although he was placed in a good place and fed with good food, the white elephant was not happy and was not satisfied. He was filled with grief and sorrow, imagining the suffering of his blind old mother. Therefore, he did not eat at all, but remained in a good place, feeling hungry and unhappy.

After a few days, the king prepared to ride the white elephant to tour the city. So he went to the white elephant's house. Then he saw that the white elephant was very thin and sickly. Here the king asked, "Oh white elephant, I have placed you in the best place and fed you the best food. What is the matter with you now? Is the place I have placed you in bad? Is the food I have fed you bad? Tell me what you want. I will bring it to you."

Then the little white elephant cried and told the whole story. "Your Majesty, I just want to go back to my old blind mother. Without me, my old mother would die," he pleaded.

The king was a noble and compassionate man. He respected and admired the white elephant for its mother's kindness, and he also pitied the mother and child. He also despised the ungrateful fool.

So the king, scolding the ungrateful fool, freed the white elephant from its bonds and escorted it safely back to its old mother.

The white elephant paid homage to the king and ran to his mother. Fortunately, the old mother was starving, but not dead. She was doing well.

The little white elephant told the old mother everything. When she told him,

"Mother... Not all humans in the world are cruel. Not all are ungrateful. There are ungrateful fools who plot evil to capture their sons, and there are also compassionate, noble, and compassionate people like kings."

"The mother elephant nodded her head in satisfaction," he said.

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