Tortoise captures the Elephant
Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes
Once there was a king who had been trying very hard to capture the elephant for his personal collection, but that prize had proved elusive. All the hunters in the kingdom had tried but failed to capture the elephant. So the king promised anyone who could capture the elephant half of his kingdom.
The tortoise heard about this and went to the king to accept the challenge. The king was very amused. “All my hunters have failed to capture the elephant and you think you can succeed where they failed?”, the king asked. The tortoise insisted that he was up to the task and promised to deliver the elephant to the king within 48 hours.
The tortoise then dug a big hole, big enough to hold the elephant along a path leading into the village. Then he covered the hole with sticks and leaves so that it was not visible unless you inspected closely. When this was done, the tortoise went to seek out the elephant.
He told the elephant “You know you are the largest animal in the forest and you should be king”. The elephant had never considered this before but he thought it was not a bad idea. The tortoise told the elephant that the villagers had decided to make the largest animal their king and were all expecting the elephant to come to the village and be crowned as their king. The more the elephant heard, the more excited he became.
The tortoise adorned the elephant with colorful beads and beating a gong, he sang songs praising the elephant while he led the way into the village. Soon they approached the trap and the tortoise being smaller and lighter walked over the trap. The elephant who was following him fell through the sticks and leaves into the deep hole the tortoise had dug. And that was how the tiny tortoise captured the huge elephant and earned half of the king’s kingdom.
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Playing to someone’s ego is an easy way to set a trap. Everyone wants to think they’re are the best thing since sliced bread, so a few sweet words can go a long way. On the flip side, it’s best to be careful when someone comes along singing your praises indiscriminately. Most people are too caught up with themselves to notice you, so when they do, it’s best to examine their motives.
yes i honestly get caught in this trap alot and it’s actually depressing because my ego is off da hook as it gets me into a mess one way or another. it’s something that i’m learning to tame as i get older though. right now i’m in the “knowing is half the battle phase”. lol
@MCD – You have healthy paranoia like me. I always wonder why cats are pumping me up when I know they don’t know me to really cheer for me like I hit the game winning shot in the finals. Everyone has to learn to control their ego and that’s why I am always advocating not accepting the titles, the handouts and the publicity cuz that leads to a overblown ego. We don’t want too many Kanye’s running around the world as everyone appreciates the music but no one appreciates hearing you say you appreciate yourself.
The story symbolizes how the hunter couldn’t bring down the elephant but his own ego suggested by the lowliest of animals brings about the mighty downfall.
@Keish – Everyone likes to be appreciated we just have to know when people start giving us credit for something we are not. I myself stop myself by doing what I have to do and leaving. If you aren’t around for the clapping you won’t get caught up in it.
Everyone in this game is on the first step of AA meetings. Hello my name is Keish and I have a uncontrollable ego that sometimes gets me in trouble! Welcome Keish so do we! LOL
Great article! Unfortunately ego’s have destroyed many people’s lives as well as their cash. You see people want to be recognized for their achievements be it large or small. This is a weakness we all have and like the rest of people who have written here before it is a weakness that can be controlled. i have always been the type to never really trust people too much especially when they come bearing gifts and singing your praises. When that happens you better be on high alert! Remember what happened to Cesar! He was on top of the world receiving praises from everyone only to find a rain of knives falling upon him by the very men who praised him!
Like Machiavelli said in his book “The Prince” – It is better to be feared than loved!
The above term is a bit extreme but the idea is the same.
The systems sets you up to seek recognition but it isn’t the way of money. Every person has some ego to get over it’s just most of us want to feel good about what we accomplish instead of feeling good about ourselves period. So if you seek external validation you are bound to get duped by cats who will manipulate you for their own gains.
The reason why the rich are quiet is to push away the attention and that’s from the admirers and the con artists!
I think your writing style is great and your content is amazing. It’s what everyday people need to hear. I just finished reading some of your articles. I don’t want to waste your time but I have a site and I wanted to know if I could use some of your articles. I want to defiantly give you credit and provide a back link to your website. Please let me know if it’s okay.
I appreciate the respect of asking but no need take the knowledge and spread it. If you back link to the original site that’s all I need. Thanks for the pub!