The Elephant Who Would Not Forget His Trainer

A magnificent war elephant, once the proud lead of a king's entire army, grew too old for battle and was sold off cheaply to a potter, spending his final years hauling clay and carts through muddy streets, his royal past entirely forgotten by everyone but himself.

One morning, war drums began beating in the distance as the kingdom's new army marched past on the road, and something ancient stirred instantly in the old elephant's memory. He lifted his head high, straightened his posture, and — despite his aching joints and years of hard labor — began marching in perfect, disciplined formation alongside the very soldiers who had no idea who he had once been.

The potter, terrified his cart would be destroyed by the sudden charge, ran alongside pleading for him to stop. But a passing general recognized the elephant's unmistakable bearing at once — no ordinary cart-elephant carried himself that way — and, moved to tears at finding a forgotten hero living out his days in such humble work, bought him back for the crown and restored him to an honored retirement worthy of everything he had once given.