It happened in one village: a poor boy, the son of a beggar, was young and full of strength. He was so young and so strong that when the royal elephant passed through the village, he simply grabbed the elephant by the tail, and the elephant could not move! This caused great displeasure of the king and delight of the people, since the king was sitting on an elephant, and the whole market was gathering, and everyone was laughing. And all because of some beggar’s son!
The king called his prime minister:
- Something needs to be done. This is offensive. I’m already afraid to drive through this village, but that boy sometimes comes to other villages! Anywhere, at any time, he can grab my elephant by the tail, and it will not be able to move. This guy is amazingly strong, so do something to reduce his energy.
“I’ll have to go and consult the sage, because I have no idea how to drain his strength,” answered the minister. - He's just a beggar. If he had some kind of shop, it would have diminished his energy. If he worked in an office, it would exhaust him. If he were a school teacher, then his energy would be spent on other things. But he doesn't do anything. He lives for his own pleasure, and the people love and feed him, so he never lacks food. He is happy: he eats and sleeps. It will be difficult to come up with something.
So, the minister went to an old sage. This elder told him:
- Do this thing. Go and tell the boy that you will give him a gold rupee every day if he does one small job. And this work is really small. He will have to go to the village temple and light a lamp.
- But how will this help? - the Prime Minister was surprised. “This can only give him more strength.” He will receive a rupee every day, and he will eat even more. He won't even have to collect alms.
“Don’t worry, just do what I say,” answered the sage.
And so it was done. And the next week, when the king was passing by, the boy again tried to stop the elephant, but was defeated. The elephant dragged him through.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru