The Unlikely Best Friends (part 1)

Unit 2 of your book, Poorvi, is about Friendship. Its first story, 'The Unlikely Best Friends', was written by Subba Rao. Unlikely means not what anyone would expect. An elephant and a dog are as different as two animals can be: one is huge and eats only plants, the other is small and eats almost anything; one loves water, the other hates getting wet. Here is the first part, in short.

Gajaraj was the king's elephant. He lived in the best place in the royal stables, and the king had ordered that he should be well looked after. But in spite of all this comfort, Gajaraj was sad, because he had no friends.

The only one he ever spent time with was the mahout, his elephant trainer. The mahout was a kind man. Every day he gave Gajaraj his food and a bath in the elephant pond. He was a good caretaker, but he was not a friend: a friend is someone you share your feelings with. Gajaraj wished he had a friend to play with.

One late evening, a dog wandered into the stable by mistake. Gajaraj could see that the visitor was tired and hungry, so he nudged (gently pushed) some of his own food towards him. The dog wagged his tail to say thank you, ate, and fell fast asleep. The next morning the mahout found the dog. He did not mind, because Gajaraj seemed to like the company, and he even threw the dog some crumbs.

Their friendship was budding: growing slowly, the way a flower bud slowly opens. Now the two went everywhere together. At the pond Gajaraj playfully splashed water on the dog with his trunk. The dog yelped, because he hated showers, and the mahout laughed. On the way back, Gajaraj lifted the dog onto his back for a ride.

But their happiness was short-lived: it lasted only a little while. A farmer passing by saw the dog and called out, 'Buntee!' It was his lost dog. The farmer hugged him, put a rope round his neck and took him home, and the mahout did not object.