The Elephant and the Dog: E263
When an elephant and a dog become the best of friends, a greed animal keeper sells the dog and they are both brokenhearted. How will the two friends become re-united. A touching tale from India about the power of friendship. An episode from storytelling podcast, Journey with Story. (duration:9 minutes)
The British Podcast Contest has opened up its Listeners’ Choice where you can vote for your favourite podcast. If you are a fan of JWS, you can vote for us at https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting
Voting closes on September 5, 2023
If you want to check out Kathleen’s latest story, Ned, the Knock-Kneed Knight, published in Cricket Magazine, about a cowardly knight who learns how to conquer his fears, you can read it to your little listener here
If you would like to enjoy our weekly coloring sheets and other perks, subscribe to our patreon page here
If your little listener wants to ask us a question or send us a drawing inspired by one of our episodes, send it to us at instagram@journeywithstory. Or you can contact us at www.journeywithstory.com. We love to hear from our listeners.
If you enjoy our podcast, you can rate, review, and subscribe at here
Did you know Kathleen is also a children’s picture book author, you can find out more about her books at www.kathleenpelley.com
The Elephant and the Dog
August 10,2023
Do you have a best friend? What do you like to do with your best friend? Have you ever been parted from each other for a very long time and if so, how did that make you feel?
Hello everyone. I’m Kathleen Pelley. Welcome to Journey with. Story. I am sure many of y ou do have a best friend and probably if you have been apart for a long time, you felt pretty sad and miserable, right? Well today’s story from India is about two rather unlikely friends, a dog and an elephant, who are parted from each other making each of them very very sad. Let’s see how they are reunited.
Thanks to all of our friends here at Journey with Story for sending us your drawings and letters and reviews – we really appreciate it. If you haven’t already done soe, you can rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thank you.
Now let’s take a journey with The Dog and the Elephant – a tale from India.
Long, long ago, in India, there was once a Dog who liked to wander into the King’s stable where the royal Elephant lived. At first, the Dog only went there to forage for the scraps of food that were strewn on the ground after the Elephant had finished eating.
But as time went by, the Dog and the Elephant began to talk to each other. They shared with each other little snippets about their day. The Elephant told the Dog how much he loved carrying the young princesses on his back around the royal gardens and how their peals of laughter soothed the sadnesses in his heart. The Dog told the Elephant how he loved sitting in the cool shade beneath the trees around the palace and how the youngest princess secretly came to find him and pet his fur and whisper in his ear. Her kindness mended all the hurts in his heart.
And so in this way the Dog and the Elephant became good friends. The Elephant gladly shared his food with the Dog and when he went to sleep the Dog slept right next to him.
When the Elephant felt playful, he would sweep the Dog up in his great trunk and swing him to and fro in a gentle rocking sway. And the Dog would bark his happy thanks.
The Dog and the Elephant knew how to mend each other’s sadnesses and they were at their happiest when they were lying right next to each other night after night.
One day a farmer saw the Dog and said to the Elephant-keeper: “I will buy that Dog. He looks good-tempered, and I see that he is smart. How much do you want for the Dog?”
Now the Elephant-keeper did not own the Dog, but he saw his chance to earn some extra rupees and he agreed to sell the Dog to the farmer for a good number of rupees. The farmer slung a rope around the Dog’s neck and dragged him away.
The Elephant could not bear to see his friend being taken away, and that night he refused to eat his dinner when the keeper put it before him. The next day he would not bathe and still refused to eat. On the third day he would not eat or bathe or move out of the stable to take the princesses on their ride around the gardens.
When the King heard of this, he at once sent his doctor to go and find out what was the matter with his Elephant.
The doctor hurried off to the stable and stood before the Elephant. He ran his hands all over his massive trunk and legs and tail, he listened to his heart beating and he looked inside his ears and inside his mouth and all over his tongue.
“How strange this is,” he told the keeper. “I can see nothing amiss with his body – all is as should be and yet, yet, he seems to be pining for something, for someone. Do you know if that is the case?”
But the keeper did not want to admit he had sold the Dog to a passing farmer and so he shrugged his shoulders and said he had no idea at all what could be ailing the Elephant.
But the royal doctor did not give up so easily. He went off to talk to the other servants who worked near the stables with all the animals and they told him all about the Dog who had befriended the Elephant and how he had been sold to a farmer three days ago.
The doctor hurried back to the King and told him, “The Elephant is sick, your majesty, not it is not a sickness of the body, it is a sickness of the heart. He misses his companion, the Dog who was sold three days ago to a passing farmer.”
“Well where is this dog now?” asked the King.
“No one knows, I am afraid,” said the doctor.
“Very well,” said the king. “I will send word all over the country, asking the man who bought this Dog to turn him loose at once or he will be punished severely.”
Messengers were sent to every corner of the country asking the person who had bought the Dog to return him at once.
When the farmer who had bought the Dog heard this, he at once let the Dog go free.
The Dog raced back to the palace to find his beloved friend, the Elephant. And so delighted was the Elephant to be reunited with his dear friend, the Dog, that he picked him up in his huge trunk and placed him right up on his head and trilled a joyful. harumph harumph. Then he gently placed him back on the ground and the two of them went for a walk around the gardens planning on how they would spend their day tomorrow – together again at last.
That night they ate their supper together and fell asleep side by side. From that day forward the Dog and the Elephant lived together in great joy and contentment.
Awww – wasn’t that so nice to see these two friends re-united at last. I’m sure some of you could do a lovely drawing of these two friends meeting up with each other at last.
Remember you can send us your drawings at www.jouneywithstory.com
Join me next time for Journey with Story.
