The Grateful Elephant
- 3 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Moral Stories
A carpenter went into the forest each day to cut timber, and one morning he found an elephant standing in a clearing, holding one front foot off the ground.
The elephant did not run. It stood and watched him come.
The carpenter came close enough to see the foot, and there was a long splinter of wood driven deep into the sole, and the whole leg was swollen and hot.
He worked at it for a long time with the tools he had, and it must have hurt badly, and the elephant did not move.
When the splinter came out the carpenter washed the wound with water from his flask and bound it with cloth.
The work
The elephant did not leave.
He followed the carpenter to where the timber lay, and when the man began to drag a log towards the road the elephant put his head down and pushed it along in one movement.
After that they worked together every day.
The elephant lifted what the carpenter could not lift, carried what he could not carry and dragged the loads down to the road, and the carpenter fed him and looked after the foot until it healed. They went on like that for years.
The young elephant
When the elephant grew old, he brought his son to the carpenter one morning and left him there.
The young elephant stayed. He learned the work, and he did it as well as his father had, and the carpenter looked after him just as carefully.
The king
One day the King rode past on the forest road and stopped to watch.
He saw an elephant working alone with no chain, no rope and no driver, hauling timber steadily beside a carpenter who did not so much as raise his voice.
"How is it trained?" he asked. "Who trained it?"
"Nobody trained it, Your Majesty," said the carpenter. "I helped its father once, a long time ago. Everything since then has been the animal's own choice."
The King sat on his horse and looked at the two of them for a while.
Then he gave orders that the carpenter was to be provided for, for the rest of his life, and rode on.
Moral of the story
Kindness comes back, sometimes years later and from a direction you never expected. What you give away is not lost.
Questions and answers
- What was wrong with the elephant when the carpenter found it?
A long splinter of wood was driven deep into the sole of its front foot and the leg had become swollen and hot.
- How did the carpenter help?
He worked the splinter out, washed the wound with water and bound it with cloth.
- What did the elephant do afterwards?
It stayed and helped him with his work, lifting, carrying and dragging timber that the carpenter could not move alone.
- Why did the old elephant bring his son?
So that the young elephant could take over the work when he was too old to continue it himself.
- What surprised the King?
That the elephant worked with no chain, no rope and no driver, entirely by its own choice.
Word meanings
- carpenter
- A person who makes and repairs things out of wood.
- timber
- Wood cut and prepared for building.
- splinter
- A sharp thin piece of wood broken off from a larger piece.
- hauling
- Pulling or dragging something heavy.
Questions about The Grateful Elephant
What are the Jataka tales?
The Jataka tales are a large collection of ancient Indian stories about kindness, patience and generosity, told for well over two thousand years.
What is the moral of The Grateful Elephant?
That kindness is repaid, often long afterwards and in ways you could not have predicted. The carpenter's single act of help supports him for the rest of his life.
Why did the elephant not run away from the carpenter?
It was in too much pain to flee and appears to have understood that the man might help. The story treats the elephant as intelligent and choosing.
Are Jataka stories good for young children?
Yes. They are gentle, the animals are usually kind, and the lessons are about generosity and patience rather than punishment.