Stories for children of all ages
translated by GB Talovich
Edited by Silent Voices
Some two thousand years ago, in a river in ancient India, there was a pond full of fish. They lived happily in the clear water. They jumped and swam or just floated around enjoying their watery home.
But then for a long time it didn't rain and every day some more water evaporated. The pond had almost dried up. If the pond dried up, all of the fish would die under the hot, dry sun.
The sun kept beating down on the dry earth. An old man happened to walk by and he saw that the water was almost gone. His heart filled with compassion. He went straight to the king and said, "The water in the fish's pond is almost dry; the fish are in great danger. If it pleases your majesty, you might send twenty elephants to carry water to save the fish."
The king was a Buddhist, as soon as he heard the old man's request, he said, "It is wonderful that you have such a kind and merciful heart. Go to the royal elephant stables and take as many elephants as you need to carry water to save those poor fish."
When the old man heard the king's reply, he took his two sons to the royal elephant stables. He selected twenty of the best elephants. Then he went to the breweries and borrowed as many skins as he could - in India in those days, liquor was stored and transported in skins. Getting the skins, the three led the twenty elephants to the biggest river in the region, and filled all the skins with water. Then the twenty royal elephants carried the heavy skins filled with water to the fishpond, and they poured all the water into the pond.
After many trips, the pond was again full, just as it had been before the drought. The fish in the pond were saved! They leapt and played and swam back and forth.
When the old man saw how happy they were, and watched the ripples on the surface of the water's, all of the worries and sadness that the long years had gathered in his tired old heart were immediately swept away.
As the day turned into night, he and his sons cheerfully led the twenty elephants back to the royal stables and then they went to tell their king their good news.
related post: 《The Love of Life》- The Bird's Reward
Source Of Information:
《Wisdom of the Buddhas》, by Venerable Wu Ling, based on the Talks of Venerable Master Chin Kung, translated by Silent Voices, published in August, 2012, distributed by Amitabha Buddhist Society Malaysia (92, Jalan Pahang, 53300 Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.
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