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| The talk of the robbers awoke Girly-face. Image Source |
The king had an elephant and his name was Girly-face. This name was given to him because he was kind and gentle. He never hurt anyone, said the keeper. There came a night when robbers came into the territory of where the elephants were kept, near where Girly-face slept. He awoke. The robbers were prepared to kill anyone who was awake. Girly-face took this literally, and felt maybe he was being taught to be good in this way, to have no pity and to not be good. Girly-face, the next day, picked up the keeper with his trunk and threw him, killing him. The other keeper saw this, and for days Girly-face became very ugly to where no one would go near him. The king heard about this and sent one of his wise men to ask Girly-face straight up. The wise man knew Girly-face and saw nothing the matter with him. He concluded, he must have heard the bad men talking and acted upon their words. The keepers responded with confidence that yes, there had been bad men here. So the wise man told the king what happened. He suggested Girly-face be around some good men so he can be a good elephant once more. So they did and Girly-face responded with goodness. Concluding that he must not kill anyone. From then on, Girly-face never struggled with not being good again.
Characters:
The king
Girly-Face
The keeper of the elephants
Other keeper
Wise man
Setting:
Bibliography: The Elephant Girly-Face from Jataka Tales, Ellen C. Babbitt, The Elephant Girly-Face
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