The Tricked Elephant

Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, translated by W. R. S. Ralston (1906). Internet Archive page image.

28. The Tricked Elephant

Long ago there lived a herd of elephants in a certain district. one of their number fell in love with a female elephant. But she was warmly attached to another young male elephant, to whom she said, "Should we not take to flight when he goes forth to the chase?"

"Is there any means by which we may escape?" asked the young elephant.

"I know of a means," she replied.

Then she said to the other elephant, "Let us go into the pool to bathe."

He went into the pool. Then she said, "Let us see which of us two can remain under water the longest."

As soon as he, who was liberally endowed with stupidity, had gone under water along with her, she emerged and fled away together with the young elephant. When the other elephant had remained a long time under water, he also emerged. But as the female elephant was not to be seen, he thought that he was in danger of being surpassed by her, so he determined to go under water again. When he had gone again under water, he propped himself up at the bottom with his tusks.

When, after some time, being out of breath, he lifted his head out of the water and saw that the female elephant was not there, he took to tramping about wildly in the tank, and thereby inflicted unjustifiable injury on fishes, frogs, tortoises, and many other creatures. Then a deity uttered this verse:

"What a huge lump of flesh devoid of intelligence! Because another has carried off the female, therefore he inflicts injury upon others."

(elephant in the Zambezi River)