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许多世纪以前，在印度一个邻河的村子里，所有的男子都学做木工活儿。这里的五百名男子都要划着木筏沿河而上到大森林里去。他们砍伐树木,烘干木材，然后做成梁柱，再锯成木板，供造房子时使用。 一天，一头年老的大象到木匠们干活儿的森林里来,想在树荫下躲避烈日: 当它踩在一堆刨花里时，一块长长的黑檀木的木片扎到了它的脚里。它的脚开治化脓，一迈步便一阵剧痛。 象一瘸一拐地走着，突然听到附近有人声。它循声来到正在忙碌的木匠们跟前。 木匠们先是注意到大象一瘸一拐的，然后发现它的肿脚上扎了一根长长的黑檀刺 木匠们轻轻拔出了木刺，接着划开化脓的伤口，清洗干净。伤口愈合得很快。 但是,大象没有忘记木匠们的恩情。它又回去帮他们干重活儿，帮他们拉运木头往木筏上装木材。 木匠们也精心喂养大象，他们轮流把自己吃的食物分出一些给它。忙碌了一天之后,大象就到河里游泳。木匠们的孩子爬到大象的背上，拽它的鼻子，对着它的耳朵吹口哨，跟它开各种玩笑。大象（它是达摩的化身）非常喜爱孩子，从不让他们受到任何伤害。 于是，这只感恩戴德的大象的忠诚之举很快便家喻户晓，人人皆知了。 The Elephant and the Carpenters Many centuries ago, in a certain village near a river in India, all the men were trained as Carpenters. Here，five hundred of them would go up the river on rafts until they reached the great forests. There they cut the trees，seasoned the lumber, shaped the beams and sawed the planks to be used in building houses. One day an old Elephant sought refuge from the heat of the sun in the shade of the woods where the Carpenters worked. As he stepped into a pile of shavings, a long black-wood splinter pierced his foot. His foot began to fester and he was in great pain when he tried to walk. As he limped along, the Elephant heard the voices of men nearby. He followed the sounds and came upon the busy Carpenters. They noticed that the Elephant was limping，and then they saw the long black- wood splinter sticking out of his swollen foot. The Carpenters gently pulled out the splinter. Then they lanced and cleansed the festering wound. The wound healed quickly. But the Elephant did not forget the kindness of the Carpenters. He returned to help them with the hard work of pulling logs from one place to another and in loading lumber onto the rafts. The Carpenters,in turn,fed the Elephant well,each of the five hundred men giving him a portion of his own food. After the work of the day the Elephant would go down to the river to swim，and there the Carpenters，children would climb over his back, pull his trunk，whistle into his ears, and play all varieties of pranks on him. The Elephant (who was the Bodist) loved the children and never permitted any harm to befall them. And the devotion of the grateful Elephant became known throughout the land. |
