Elephant and the turtle

It is said that he who allows a friend to lead him to his doom is a fool. The story of the elephant who wholeheartedly trusted a turtle to the point of his destruction teaches us to be careful who we trust. Betrayals can come at anytime.

The elephant and the turtle were best of friends.

They did literally everything together. The elephant would always tell the turtle everything about himself but the wise turtle never said anything about himself to the elephant. It would be said that the turtle knows the in and out of the elephant.

The elephant was the most seeked animal in the human kingdom, so in order to avoid being captured by them, the elephant keeps his dwelling place a secret. Only the turtle knew where he lived.

The human kingdom had a king whose daughter was ripe for marriage. The young lady had rejected all her suitors. She claimed that she needed a strong man. The criteria she gave for marriage was that anyone that can bring a live elephant to her would be her husband. The elephant would be used to prepare a banquet for her wedding.

The turtle who was interested in the princess decided to try his luck but was rejected by her. He then went to the king and said to him, "fix a banquet in your kingdom and I will bring a live elephant as a gift to your daughter on that day. If I fail to do as I've said, kill me". The king fixed the banquet.

On the day of the banquet, the turtle went to elephant's home and said to him, "the humans has decided to recognize you as a Chief in their kingdom. They have fixed a banquet for you today, and you would be the chairman of the feast". Because the elephant trusted him, he decided to attend the banquet.

While they were still on their way to the king's palace, the turtle proposed that a rope be attached to the elephant's neck. He claimed that he would hold on to the rope and climb to the elephant's back. The elephant accepted. The turtle mounted the elephant's back and also attached a rope to his neck.

When they got to the palace, the turtle said to the king, "your majesty, I've brought the priced elephant for your daughter". The elephant then asked him, "Mr Turtle, who did you say you have brought for the princess?" The turtle replied, "worry not my friend. You must have misheard me. I only said that the priced elephant would be the chief of today's occasion". The elephant believed him.

It was when the elephant was taken to the kitchen and surrounded by butchers that he realized that he had been betrayed by his dearest friend the turtle. It was too late for him to escape his fate.

The turtle was not remorseful for what he had done to his friend. He happily married the princess and the banquet went as planned.

This story teaches us to not be blinded by trust. It is not a bag thing to trust people but do so with some sense. Trusting too much has led a lot of people to their doom.

Know the friend's you keep and be wary of whom you put you trust in.

All images are from Google

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