The front page news story flashed a headline saying, "The Lion King Announces New Initiatives to Bring More Prosperity in Jungle. He is a soul for whom the welfare of all the animals in forest is supreme".
Lion was planting every positive story in mainstream. The media in jungle was too fearful and soft on lion. One by one everyone who opposed lion was either killed secretly or was banished from the forest. The avaricious Lion, with active support of his secret sponsors had successfully won the elections. Now he was ruling an abundant jungle with full authority. Whatever lion said was the law of the jungle.
Lion had a stealth plan. Lion wanted a secret abode, where he could live a luxurious life away from the forest. He had chosen a secret big cave in northern land, a land which no animal dared to venture and it was only connected by secret harsh path. Lion started amassing wealth in secret coffers placed in that northern cave. As animal council was no more honest, so lion enjoyed absolute freedom to transfer wealth to secret abode.
He used to take loadful of treasure secretly at night on mules. The treasure was placed secretly in cave, while mule was killed and feasted upon. This was going on for years and years now and nobody knew what exactly had happened to wealth and where all the mules were exactly going.
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A sage elephant had long back migrated to northern land. He had gone to meditate to Northern hills leaving his cave behind abandoned. Sage elephant lived in Northern land since years and nobody knew his existence. He lived in a difficult cold land. A land of difficulty and scarcity was abode of Elephant. Elephant was meant for hard life of that forest.
As nearby jungle was abundant and green, but Elephant was trained as animal of survival and scarcity. Elephant lived content and happily, but strange meditative experiences called him to help animals in forest nearby. On returning back to his cave, which unluckily lion has chosen his stealth site for illegal and amoral wealth, he surprisingly witnessed huge amount of gold, silver and precious gift lying in sacks. He could easily guess something unusual was taking place in his absence.
His foresight forewarned him of huge devastation in neighboring forest, both by corrupt lion and coming rains, but he also knew that a certain group of animals would not let anyone from North forewarn and sermon them. Sage Elephant had wisdom to put across his rescue plan and he knew the perfect timing.
Nobody knew the future except sage white elephant, but would he be actually able to save the animals from clutches of corrupt and also from impact of the flood? But first he had to move to neighboring forest. He looked for suitable cave and found a strangely abandoned cave and it became his new abode.
In the month of June, on one fine day it started lightening and thundering and then, raining. The pour was light, fresh and gentle. All the animals started dancing and singing in the summer rains. The fresh rain drops were sweetly perfumed with the fragrance of wild flowers and foliage. The hot and steamy summer day had suddenly turned into silky wet month. The chimps and baboons chattered in excitement on trees, and frogs croaked in waters. Slowly the rain became heavy and the jungle turned into enormous pool of water.
The new abode turned good meditation place for sage elephant. The elephant was deep in meditations when it was pouring heavily outside. The wise elephant saw strange old view in its mental eye and silently murmured without opening its eyes. The white sage elephant stood up from its meditations and came out at the cave`s opening and saw deep into dark clouds above and pools of water below.
The elephant hurriedly went to council and advised plainly, "Esteemed Chair and worthy members! The water is rising and collecting and it is high time to release water in canal, so that deluge and flood does not happen."
The lion and his team were in smug habit of ridiculing sage elephant since his arrival. They rated elephant too lofty and impracticable. The council was happy partying, dancing and singing in rains and proclaimed, "Sage elephant has gone old and crazy and asks everyone to Travel North." The Elephant started towards its abode without caring about heavy rain and started crooning its favorite song,
`` Casting want and misery out
Knowing now all good supply
Ever comes from realms on high
I AM the hand of God's own fortune
Flooding forth the treasures of light
Now receiving full abundance
To supply each need of life."
The elephant always tried to recall the singer`s name and ultimately settled with word Anonymous
The elephant knew the fate of honest common animals, so he had to help them in strange and anonymous ways.
It rained heavily and there seemed no sign of cession of rains. It was pouring and this torrential rain slowly filled every part of forest and fertile regions in jungle. The surge resulting from heavy rains spread wide destruction all around. The animals perched themselves at whatever places they could hold and place themselves. When water receded a bit, the animals were left with no option but to Look around in desperation. The jungle witnessed wide scale starvation, disease and death.
The council of jungle: lion, cheetah, fox were worried, but also happy of amassing huge wealth in secret place at other jungle. Moreover, they could not do anything except see withering and dying flora and fauna. They were powerless in front of this natural calamity. The counsels also held prayer meetings for asking Goddess for help in these trying circumstances. During prayers the king lion had a vision in which a voice was saying, "Travel North."
Guided by greedy vision, the corrupt council animals started travelling north and saw a strange large and fearsome creature. It was deadly creature no one had seen before and animals were stunned from where it had come. The lion king was already exhausted by pouring and flooding and its ravages and felt very lonely and angry. Lion managed to find courage and challenge this strange creature and said, "Oh! Big animal! Why you dare to enter into jungle at this troubled time? I order you to go away!" The big strange animal had a strong and loud voice which echoed throughout jungle, "Oh frail animals of dark jungle, you cannot fight me with your weak bones and tired bodies. I am a protector of North. I am here to protect. Yes, I have a message from North."
The lion rued that it should have not accumulated its wealth in north. It should have listened to elephant`s hint of surge and cloud burst. Now drained and crushed by surge and devastation, the lion and other corrupt animals were having no other way, then to listen to this strange beast. The eerie brute said, "The Goddess of jungle had forewarned you through rains, but you ignored. Now, I narrate you story and commandments from Mother Goddess." So, beast started slowly with the story.
"Once upon a time, there were two baby falcons pet in royal palace. While one flacon used to fly high in sky, the other stayed happily perched on branch of royal garden tree. The king tried all the tricks given by experts to make this second bird fly, but to no aid. One day a woodcutter arrived in royal garden to trim overgrown trees.
As the king was ambling in his garden, he was surprised and ecstatic to see both falcons flying high in deep blue sky. He was intrigued to see second baby falcon fly so high. As he was thinking about reason to find what made baby falcon fly, it saw neatly chopped garden and saw royal garden tree existed no longer on which second baby falcon used to perch happily."
The strange creature said, "The God has hacked down the tree of Royal Garden, now all you have to do is fly high and sing. It is good omen for you."
The animals grasped, but they were not convinced with the story. The strange creature knew the agony of animals and it said, "I will also give you directions from deity and you have to follow it or you all perish." The animals listened with fear to the beast.
Brute said, "Decide to bring more order and discipline in your jungle. Throw confusion, fear and chaos away from jungle. Always remember that turbulence passes away as it is just test of your collective strength."
It further continued, "Fear nothing, judge nothing and nag nothing, appreciate every single moment. Find reasons for celebration and create more space for celebrations to come in life."
The animals had no idea about what the strange creature was talking about. Still, they listened with rapt thought and interest as they saw a great light and hope in sky above. The Strange creature finally rose from its seat, "Oh creatures of jungle, I have faith in you. I know your greatest promise of expressing highest and ultimate good. The Goddess wants all of you to mark life with joy. "
Lion was clever. He knew very soon he would escape with his loyal friends and can live lavishly and happy in northern lands.
Meanwhile the elephant informed some of honest council members about lion`s secret wealth and his probable intention. He also asked honest animals to stay united at this moment of difficulty. After few days the water receded. Elephant engaged the animals in bringing their wealth back from stealth place in other harsh jungle.
Slowly and steadily the animals began working with wit and grit and the jungle returned to its past. With hope and faith, the happiness and health started flourishing in jungle again. The lion was happy that the strange animal had long vanished. Once all wealth was brought back into jungle, the animals let the corrupt move to north and blocked the way of return by putting high fences across the border and deputed Special Forces so that nobody could return. Finally he said that the corrupts were trapped in their own design and thought smilingly, " Eagles would be happy devouring the flesh of corrupt.``
Corrupt Council of Animals were confused and angry how sage elephant could know all these things in advance. Why sage elephant no longer gives them strange advises as they have wizened up and stopped nagging wise elephant. While sage elephant amusingly thought, "Nobody hears to normal advice, but everybody listens to beasts and brutes and their stagy advices."
Ultimately the forest returned to its former self and the animals were happy and Sage elephant was happy and sang its favorite song of plenty, "I AM free from fear and doubt, Casting want and misery out"
END