The White Elephant
Long, long ago, in a small kingdom there lived a washerman. Whenever anybody wore clothes washed by him, it looked as though they were donning new dresses. For, so well did he wash and press them! He was known by one and all for his good and honest work. No doubt, he prospered well. One day, well before the sun rose over the hills, there was a gentle knock on his door. When he opened it, he saw the potter standing before him. "Dear friend, what brings you here so early in the morning?" he asked. "Tomorrow the king has called me for some important work. But I've only one pair of good dress that badly requires to be washed and pressed. Could you please do it for me?" said the potter. "I'm indeed blessed," replied the washerman, "for wearing the clothes washed by me when you go to meet the king!" The potter handed over a pair of a blue dress and returned home. It was for the first time that he was going to wear clothes washed and pressed by the well-known washerman.
But when he went back, the next day, to take his clothes, he could not recognise them. They had been blue, now they were white! "What have you done to my clothes? What happened to their colour?" he demanded. "My friend, the quality of colour in which your clothes were dyed was very poor. When the clothes - and you had dirtied them too much - were put in hot water, the colour left them in patches. They looked funny. I had to labour very hard to remove it entirely. But I'm not charging any extra for that," said the washerman. "Extra? It's for me to demand compensation from you, for the loss of my precious blue!" said the potter. Soon they were quarrelling. The washerman threatened to report to the king if the potter did not pay him his due. But he refused to pay and left in a huff. As the potter made his way to the palace, he heard the royal herald proclaim, "The king wants a white elephant. Whosoever can get it will be handsomely rewarded." The king asked him to make a special pot out of a particular clay. For, the queen had been suddenly taken ill, and it was only in that pot that some herbs were to be crushed and the medicine made for her. "You're wearing a beautiful dress, as white as snow!" remarked the king, as the potter was taking his leave. "Yes, Your Majesty," replied the potter with a naughty smile, "actually it was blue in colour but the washerman turned it white. He's the pride of your realm, O king. He can make everything white. Why don't you ask him to fulfil your long-cherished wish to possess a white elephant? He can wash any of your grey elephants white! He has magic!"
"Ah!Ah!" exclaimed the king. "Is it so? A genius in my kingdom and I'm not aware of it! A white elephant at last! It is a good omen and will bring us happiness!" On his way home, the potter chuckled to himself. "Now let's see how the fellow faces this challenge. He had the cheek to threaten me!" The washerman was summoned to the king's presence. "I hear you can make everything white!" asked the king. "I only clean the clothes of your subjects to the best of my ability, your Majesty," replied the man humbly. "Now I want you to wash my dark grey elephant into white. Mind you, if you fail, you shall be banished from our kingdom," ordered the king. The washerman was surprised at this strange command. He thought for a while and easily guessed that the potter must have been behind this mischief. "Your Majesty," he replied in a measured tone, "I'm prepared to carry out your desire and wash the elephant by the same methods I wash people's clothes. But none of the pots I have is large enough to contain the animal!" The potter was called once again and asked to make a pot that would hold the royal elephant. He was at his wit's end. How could he ever make a pot large enough to hold such a gigantic beast? But he dare not disobey the king's order. He gathered his kinsmen to help him in his task. The entire family somehow managed to fashion a large vessel, from a huge quantity of clay.