Every time i look back and think about life, I just can’t help, but remember the story of the elephant I’d been told as a kid. At this point you may (or may not) ask “what elephant story?”.
As most stories begin, “once upon a time,...”
In the animal kingdom, there was a terrible famine. So terrible was the famine that carnivorous animals were pushed to join the animals below them in the food chain (well, the few left, that was) to eat the greens. Alas! It was a pity as even the greens wilted away, leaving nothing but the coarse and humbling brown colour of the sand, the oracle was consulted and a solution was given. The solution was simple- the elephant was to be the sacrificial lamb.
As Fate would have it again, it was a rather remarkable coincidence that the elephant was neither present at the oracle-consulting gathering nor did he get wind of the outcome. Alas! The solution had emerged with a problem strapped to its back. The elephant in the room was “how were the animals to capture the biggest animal in the kingdom".Well, it won’t come as a surprise to you that Tortoise, the tortoise, had the solution to that problem, as he was usually the one with the cunny ideas in most of the stories of this kind. He told them to dig a pit as wide as the elephant and thrice the height of the elephant. A beautiful large mat was to be placed on the pit to conceal it; after which a magnificent throne was to be carefully placed on the mat.
Once this task was accomplished, Tortoise led an entourage of drummers, singers and dancers (oh yes! They were all animals) to the elephant’s lair. On getting there, Tortoise told the elephant that he’d been pronounced the next king. The elephant doubted this at first, demanding what was wrong with the king of the jungle- the Lion. To this expected question, the tortoise convinced the prey saying that the lion being considered as the strongest animal was overrated. Tortoise continued his witty display by convincing the elephant further that the elephant being the biggest would unquestionably be the strongest; and in conclusion, the throne should go to the elephant, the presumed strongest. The tortoise needed not say more, the elephant was already intoxicated by the idea of being the king of all animals.
The elephant was so idea-intoxicated that he did not know when he started dancing , ironically, and unknown to him, to his death. And he danced as his praises were sung, “Make merry and rejoice for we’ll make the elephant king!!!” Oh! How the elephant danced with every strength, skill and emotion he could muster that he failed to see the scorching mirage he was diving headlong into. No! He didn’t see that his cheerful entourage had halted at a distance, though still dancing, singing and cheering “Rejoice! Rejoice!! The elephant will be made king!!!”; beckoning him to his magnificent throne of death. How sad it was that the elephant, lost in his euphoria, was dancing majestically and with all confidence to his destiny.
Alas! Before anyone could think or blink, the “king” had fallen into the concealed pit. The fall was so fatal that he broke his neck . Finally! The gods had their sacrifice, the land flourished again and life went on (like nothing ever happened)…
The Elephant; like every one of us, had a dream, or wanted to enjoy a very comfortable life. Unfortunately, he paid an unfortunate and unprecedented price for making three mistakes. The first was his failure to realize that nothing comes easy. There’s no short cut to success; only through diligent hard work. Another thing he failed to consider was that all that glitters is not gold. And finally, he ignored the fact that knowledge is power, because he did not make inquiries about the meeting he was supposed to attend. This could be likened with students that miss lectures, yet do not find out what and what were discussed during the lecture. Every minute detail is relevant.
