Gajaraj, the elephant, lived in the best booth of
the royal stables. The king was fond of Gajaraj,
and he had ordered that the elephant should
be well looked after.
In spite of royal comforts, Gajaraj was sad
because he had no friends. The mahout, or
elephant trainer, was the only one he ever
interacted with. The mahout was a kind man
who served Gajaraj food, and gave him a bath
in the elephant pond daily. He was a good
caretaker, but not a friend.
“I wish I had a friend I can play with,”
thought Gajaraj. One late evening, a dog
strayed into the stable. Gajaraj could see that
the visitor was tired and hungry. He pushed

some of the food he was munching towards
the dog. The visitor wagged his tail, looked up
at the elephant to convey his thanks, and then
turned his full attention to the food in front
of him. As soon as he finished eating, he fell
asleep.
The next morning, the mahout found the
stray dog in the stable. He did not mind the dog.
He also noticed that Gajaraj seemed to like the
company. So, he threw some crumbs to the dog,
which the animal accepted wagging his tail.
When the elephant went out for a bath,
the dog accompanied his friend. Plunging into
the water, the elephant gave himself a shower
using his long trunk, as the dog watched.
The elephant took a trunkful of water and
playfully splashed the water on his friend. The
dog yelped for he hated taking showers. The
mahout laughed.

On their way home, the elephant picked up
the dog with his trunk and placed him on his
back. The dog was delighted to get a ride.
A farmer passing by saw the dog. “Buntee,”
he yelled. The dog ran to him. The farmer
hugged the dog and told the mahout that he was
looking for his dog ever since he disappeared
from his house. He was glad he found him now.
The mahout had no objection to the farmer
taking the dog home. The farmer tossed a
rope round the neck of the dog, saying, “Come
Buntee, let’s go home.”

 

Only when the farmer pulled the rope did the
dog realise that he was being taken away from
his friend. He yelped, the elephant winced, but
neither the farmer nor the mahout noticed that
the two friends were in tears.
The next day at lunch time the mahout
served Gajaraj his favourite food. When the
mahout came back after finishing his other
chores, he was surprised to see that the food
had remained untouched.

“Why Gajaraj, aren’t you hungry?” he asked
concerned. The elephant did not react. “He
may have slight indigestion. Let me not force
him to eat,” thought the mahout.
That night too, Gajaraj did not touch his
food—nor the next day. Now, the mahout was
worried. He ran his hand on Gajaraj’s tummy
and felt there was nothing wrong. “Why was
he not eating then? Is he missing his friend,
that dog?” the mahout wondered.
Meanwhile at the farmer’s house, the dog
had also not touched his food ever since he
was brought home.
“Are you missing your friend?” asked the
farmer remembering the happy look on Buntee’s
face while sitting on the elephant’s back. “I cannot
see you go hungry,” said the farmer, “If you miss
your friend so much, go to him.”
The farmer removed the rope with which
he had tied the dog. The dog, though weak,

 

sprang to his feet. He licked the farmer’s hand
once and then ran. He stopped only when he
arrived at the stable.
The elephant picked up the dog with his
trunk and gave him a joyous swing. The
mahout was relieved. He quickly brought the
food. “Both of you eat first,” he said.
By then the farmer who had followed the
dog, joined him. The two of them watched
with satisfaction the two friends eating food.
“It’s not only Gajaraj who has found a friend,”
said the mahout hugging the farmer, “I’ve also
found one.”
Subba Rao
kathakids.com