The Elephant and the Tailor

In a bustling village in India, there lived a magnificent Elephant named Gajra. He was gentle and well-loved by everyone. Every morning, Gajra would walk through the market to the river for his daily bath. He would swing his trunk and nod to the shopkeepers.

On the main street, there was a small shop belonging to a Tailor named Mohan. Mohan was a moody man. Sometimes he was kind, and sometimes he was grumpy. But he usually liked Gajra. Whenever Gajra stopped by his window, Mohan would smile and feed him a sweet banana or a piece of juicy sugarcane. Gajra would trumpet softly to say “Thank you” and then continue to the river. They became good friends.

However, one hot afternoon, Mohan was having a terrible day. He had pricked his finger with a needle four times, and a customer had yelled at him. He was angry and tired. Just then, Gajra walked by. The friendly Elephant stopped at the window and poked his trunk inside, expecting his usual treat. He waved his trunk cheerfully.

But instead of a banana, Mohan grabbed his sharp needle. “Go away! I have no food for you today!” shouted Mohan. In his anger, he jabbed the needle into the tip of Gajra’s trunk. Prick!

“Ouuuch!” cried Gajra. He pulled his trunk back in pain. He looked at Mohan with sad, hurt eyes. The Tailor didn’t apologize; he just laughed meanly. Gajra didn’t get angry or smash the shop. He was a wise elephant. He simply turned around and walked silently to the river.

At the riverbank, Gajra cooled his trunk in the soothing water. But he didn’t forget the insult. He thought about how to teach the Tailor a lesson without hurting him. He waded into a muddy part of the river. The water there was thick, brown, and very messy. Gajra filled his long trunk with the muddy, slushy water. He sucked up gallons of it until his trunk was full.

Then, he walked back to the market. When he reached the shop, Mohan was busy sewing a brand-new, expensive silk dress for a wedding. It was white and gold and very beautiful. Gajra quietly put his trunk through the window. Whoosh!

He sprayed the dirty, muddy water all over the shop! Splat! Splash! Drip! The brown mud covered Mohan from head to toe. It soaked the walls, the floor, and worst of all, it completely ruined the beautiful white silk dress.

Mohan stood there, dripping wet, looking shocked. Gajra looked at him calmly, flapped his ears, and trumpeted just once. It was his way of saying, “If you hurt me, I can be messy too.” Then he walked away majestically.

Mohan looked at the mess. He realized it was his own fault. “I was cruel to my friend for no reason,” he thought shamefully. “And now I have paid the price.” From that day on, Mohan never took his anger out on others. When Gajra came back the next week, Mohan apologized with a whole bunch of bananas, and they became friends again—but Mohan always hid his needles when Gajra was around.

Moral of the Story: Do not mistreat friends. Bad actions lead to bad results.

The tailor realized his mistake. He had hurt his friend and paid a heavy price for it.

Moral of the Story: Do not mistreat friends. Bad actions lead to bad results.