The Man Who Shared His Hut
The Man Who Shared His Hut
The Man Who Shared His Hut
torrential: pouring
The elephant thanked his friend, saying: "You have done me a good
deed and one day I shall return your kindness."
But what followed? As soon as the elephant put his trunk inside
the hut, slowly he pushed his head inside, and finally flung the man
out in the rain, and then lay down comfortably inside his friend's hut,
saying: "My dear good friend, your skin is harder than mine, and as
there is not enough room for both of us, you can afford to remain in
the rain while I am protecting my delicate skin from the hailstorm."
The man, seeing what his friend had done to him, started to
grumble, the animals in the nearby forest heard the noise and came to
see what was the matter. All stood around listening to the heated
argument between the man and his friend the elephant.
In this turmoil the lion came along roaring, and said in a loud
voice: "Don't you all know that I am the King of the jungle! How dare
anyone disturb the peace of my kingdom?"
On hearing this the elephant, who was one of the high ministers
in the jungle kingdom, replied in a soothing voice, and said: "My Lord,
there is no disturbance of the peace in your kingdom. I have only been
having a little discussion with my friend here as to the possession of
this little but which your lordship sees me occupying."
The lion, who wanted to have "peace and tranquility" in his
kingdom, replied in a noble voice, saying: "I command my ministers
to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to go thoroughly into this matter
and report accordingly." He then turned to the man and said: "You
have .done well by establishing friendship with my people, especially
with the elephant who is one of my honorable ministers of state. Do
not grumble any more, your but is not lost to you. Wait until the sitting
of my Imperial Commission, and then you will be given plenty of
opportunity to state your case. I am sure that you will be pleased with
the findings of the Commission."
. The man was very pleased by these sweet words from the King of
the Jungle, and innocently waited for his opportunity, in the belief that,
naturally, the but would be returned to him.
The elephant, obeying the command of his master, got busy with
other ministers to appoint the Commission of Inquiry. The following
elders of the jungle were appointed to sit on the Commission: (1) Mr.
Rhinoceros; (2) Mr. Buffalo; (3) Mr. Alligator; (4) The Rt. Hon. Mr.
Fox to act as chairman; and (5) Mr. Leopard to act as Secretary to the
Commission.
On seeing the personnel, the man protested and asked if it was not
necessary to include in this Commission a member from his side. But
he was told that it was impossible, since no one from his side was well
enough educated to understand the intricacy of jungle law. Further,
that there was nothing to fear, for the members of the Commission
were all men of repute for their impartiality in justice, and as they were
gentlemen chosen by God to look after the interests of races less
adequately endowed with teeth and claws, he might rest assured that
turmoil: confusion
lordship: title of
respect
ComMission of
Inquiry: panel of
investigation
imperial Commission:
government panel
they would investigate the matter with the greatest care and report
impartially,
The Commission sat to take the evidence. The Rt. Hon. Mr.
Elephant was first called. He came along with a superior air, brushing
his tusks with a sapling which Mrs. Elephant had provided, and in an
authoritative voice said: "Gentlemen of the Jungle, there is no need
for me to waste your valuable time in relating a story which I am sure
you all know. I have always regarded it as my duty to protect the
interests of my friends, and this appears to have caused the
misunderstanding between myself and my friend here, He invited me
to save his but from being blown away by a hurricane. As the hurricane
had gained access owing to the unoccupied space in the hut, I
considered it necessary, in my friend's own interests, to turn the
undeveloped space to a more economic use by sitting in it myself; a duty
which any of you would undoubtedly have performed with equal
readiness in similar circumstances."
After hearing the Rt, Hon. Mr. Elephant's conclusive evidence,
the Commission called Mr. Hyena and other elders of the jungle, who
all supported what Mr. Elephant had said. They then called the man,
who began to give his own account of the dispute. But the Commission
cut him short, saying: "My good man, plekase confine yourself to
relevant issues. We have already heard the circumstances from various
unbiased sources; all we wish you to tell us is whether the undeveloped
space in your but was occupied by anyone else before Mr. Elephant
assumed his position?"
The man began to say: "No, but" But at this point the Commission
declared that they had heard sufficient evidence from both sides and
retired to consider their decision.
After enjoying a delicious meal at the expense of the Rt. Hon. Mr.
Elephant, they reached their verdict, called the man, and declared as
follows: "In our opinion this dispute has arisen through a regrettable
misunderstanding due to the backwardness of your ideas. We consider
that Mr. Elephant has fulfilled his sacred duty of protecting your
interests. As it is clearly for your good that the space should be put
to its most economic use, and as you yourself have not yet reached the
stage of expansion which would enable you to fill it, we consider it
necessary to arrange a compromise to suit both parties. Mr. Elephant
shall continue his occupation of your hut, but we give you permission
to look for a site where you can build another but more suited to your
needs, and we will see that you are well protected.
The man, having no alternative, and fearing that his refusal might
expose him to the teeth and claws of members of the Commission, did
as they suggested. But no sooner had he built another but than Mr.
Rhinoceros charged in with his horn lowered and ordered the man to
quit. A Royal Commission was again appointed to look into the matter,
and the same finding was given. This procedure was repeated until Mr.
Buffalo, Mr. Leopard, Mr. Hyena and the rest were all accommodated
with new huts.
conclusive: convincing
relevant: timely,
important
unbiased: fair, openminded
assumed: took
regrettable:
unfortunate
expansion: growth
alternative: other
choice