Forest Tales
Once there was a huge
elephant. He used to roam freely around the forest. He was wise and kind and
generous and had much power. Many had gained from him. He never injured others
but always helped them. But gradually he became tired and sleepy. He was then
attacked by some hunters and other opportunistic animals who were looking to
feed themselves on his body parts. He resisted successfully for a long time. He
however became more and more weak and tired. Then fatigue overcame him and he
fell asleep. He remained in that state for a long time. Then several other
hunters came. They found the animal very useful for their purpose and therefore
decided to tame him. They chained him, tied him with ropes and thrashed him
mercilessly till he bled. However he did not die. Nor did he completely
surrender. Even though he was sleepy he resisted them with all his might. He
finally succeeded in shaking off the chains and tried standing on his feet. But
the hunters had badly bruised him, and dented him with their razor sharp
weapons. They had also fed him enough tranquilizers, so that he was in a state
of stupor. So for a period, even though he was free, he remained in that state
of stupor and daze. He did not remember his might, his past deeds and his
potential. He tamely followed some of those hunters, thinking all the while
that even though they had enchained him, they were his friends and great
beneficiaries. He did not know that they had actually given him tranquilizers
and thought that they had given him vitamins and painkillers and was therefore
grateful to them.
There was a dragon who
lived near the place where that huge elephant lived. He was also drugged by the
hunters who fed him with a liberal dose of opium, but he was able to come out
of his stupor quicker. When he opened his eyes he saw the elephant. He
immediately recognized the great threat the latter posed to his ambition. The
dragon quickly became big and powerful and was ambitious enough to rule the
forest. He sensed the power and potential of the elephant and aspired to subdue
him. In the meanwhile, while the elephant was getting freed from the shackles a
jackal was born which fed on the flesh and blood of the elephant which had lost
considerable weight and vital parts in the process of its struggle. It saw the
elephant as a rich source of food and was greedy for more and more pieces of
flesh. It delightfully set itself on feeding on the elephant but despite
several attempts could not bite it with enough force. In the process it lost
several of its teeth and hurt itself badly. The elephant was bruised and tried
to shoo away the jackal but refrained from causing direct injury, being
compassionate and kind. The jackal escaped lightly at least four times
and it further emboldened it. It mistook the compassion of the elephant as
cowardice. It however became more cautious and instead of direct attacks it
resorted to indirect attacks, like digging a hole in the soft underbelly of the
elephant, the most vulnerable spot, using the help of flesh eating worms and
its own claws. It also partnered with the dragon who saw in it a deceitful ally
who could be used for the time being. In this way the jackal continued to
disturb the peace of the elephant which writhed in pain and did not know what
was happening in the underbelly region. The giant elephant, being still in a
state of stupor, was unable to determine the intention of the jackal and the
dragon. A part of his brain thought that he could make friends with both of
them, so that they do not attack him anymore. Another part was more prudent. It
warned him against their deceitful maneuvers But the dullness inherited by
the sleep and the drug did not allow the elephant to see through the scheme
fully and therefore he disregarded the prudent brain as that would have meant
more work in the form of constant vigil and aggressiveness. Instead he chose to
be passive. There were vultures and hyenas around him in anticipation of a big
feast, who were waiting for the dragon (and the jackal) to strike.
There was one uncle
wolf, who was a selfish creature, though he claimed himself to be the moral
guardian of the forest. He was weary of the designs of the dragon, as so far he
himself had ruled the jungle after the hunters left. He had fought several
wars, twice with a mighty eagle who aspired to dominate some parts of the
forest and looked down upon smaller animals and birds as “untertiere”, and with a pack of wild dogs who were running free,
and was constantly threatened by a great bear. The wolf was ferocious and
powerful. His claws and teeth were razor sharp and other animals were terrified
by his presence. Nobody, except a few foxes who always accompanied him, loved
him. However nobody dared a confrontation with him owing to his gigantic
stature and viciousness. He was initially hesitant about the elephant as he did
not know the latter completely. He therefore made friends with the jackal. He
soon found out that the jackal was of dubious character. But still he could not
entirely abandon it. Weary of the dragon, he made some friendly gestures with
the elephant. The latter was ambivalent as he had a mistaken notion that peace
can be made with both the dragon and the jackal and any friendship with the
vicious wolf would also make it unpopular with other species of animals.
The bear was initially
a friend of the elephant, or atleast he made him thought so, by helping him to
stay on his feet when repeated attacks from the jackal had weakened him. But he
was also an ally of the dragon. Therefore he chose to remain neutral. Moreover
he had his own score to settle with the uncle wolf. There were other animals
and various dynamics were witnessed but we would limit this story with the tale
of the elephant as he is the central character.
We can at this moment
only conjecture as to what happened afterwards as the full story is not yet
developed. The stupor of the elephant was most likely taken as cowardice and
the jackal and the dragon launched a ferocious attack. The worms in the
underbelly had already weakened him and now came the external blows from the
fire breathing dragon. The jackal had attacked from the rear. Uncle wolf tried
helping the elephant but was spurned and he desisted from further help,
thinking that he would also share some of the booty when everything was over.
He did not want to completely antagonize the jackal and the dragon and also he
did not have that kind of strength anymore. Overindulgence in sense pleasures
had weakened him considerably. This could have been the end of the story for
the elephant, but it did not happen. Somehow several mighty and crushing blows
acted as a trigger to dispel the stupor. The giant elephant was bleeding
profusely, but he discovered a supernatural source of strength within himself.
He remembered who he was. He remembered that once upon a time he possessed
great might and he was respected by all the denizens of the jungle. He
remembered that he was drugged and chained and beaten. He was now angry. The
confusion had vanished. He was determined to regain his lost strength. He was
injured but not debilitated. He was in pain but not agonized. His supernatural
source of strength fended for him. He turned around and with one mighty blow of
his trunk he shook off the jackal who fell at a great distance and had its
spine broken. It became completely immobilized from the mighty blow. Now it was
the face off between the dragon and the elephant. One would be sorely
disappointed, but the results were not very dramatic. The dragon, seeing the
huge elephant regaining his strength and composure, and knowing for sure that
any fight would be suicidal, backed off and refrained from any further
hostilities. Uncle wolf, realizing that the elephant had gained supreme
strength, came to know of the past achievements of the elephant which far
surpassed his own achievements, and was filled with wonder. He became an ally
of the elephant and gained considerably from the association. The other animals
began to respect the leadership of the elephant and the hyenas and the vultures
were sorely disappointed.
The moral of the story,
a few mighty blows are essential for a nation which is suffering from momentary
dementia and is therefore oblivious of the great might and power that it really
possesses, and the memories of its past achievements. These blows necessitate
several supreme sacrifices that its denizens have to undergo to restore the
nation to its original place.
Now you can draw any
analogy with the prevalent socio-political situations.
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