Raja Steals the Show

Raja was a huge, handsome elephant who belonged to a temple. He was looked after with great care. On special occasions he was dressed up in silk and jewels and carried the Lord’s statue on his back.
The Keeper was very kind to him. Raja was fed properly and bathed every day. His cage was huge with wheels. It was cleaned out regularly. He got sugarcane, coconuts, bananas and lots of rice to eat.
Close to the temple was a large teak forest. In it lived some men who were thieves and poachers. They sold the timber stolen from the forest to bad men in the villages and the cities. They killed animals and sold their skins, teeth, claws and tusks.
They used to see Raja at the temple. Their leader thought, “This elephant can be really useful to us. He can drag timber and, if we get him with the cage, he can help carry all the animals we kill into the towns.”

He made a plan to steal Raja. So one night when everyone slept, the thieves came and with the help of some bullocks they dragged Raja’s cage into the deep forest. Raja was fast asleep. When he woke up in the morning, he found himself in the forest. There was no sign of his beloved Keeper, nor could he see the temple anywhere. He trumpeted loudly but the thieves only laughed.
He was made to do heavy work in the forest. He hated the other animals being killed. He was beaten and starved. It was a terrible life, but he was helpless because these bad men bound him with ropes and chains when they made him work.
He made friends with a small mouse that came to eat what the thieves left behind. The mouse helped him steal the keys of the cage. Raja got out and, after thanking his friend, he walked through the forest to his home.

He found they had all been looking for him, but no one thought he would be imprisoned in the forest. Raja led the king’s soldiers to the thieves’ den. All the men were caught and taken away by the soldiers.
He was once again the celebrated temple elephant, lovingly cared for by his Keeper. But he never forgot his friend, the mouse. Whenever he came to the temple, Raja gave him lots of things to eat! And the mouse carried a small bag of goodies back with him too.

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