This is an old story from a hot country named Myanmar.
In this country, elephants were the most valuable animals. So only the King and
rich people could have them. People gave them clothes and
even pretty hats to wear on top of their huge heads.
The King of Myanmar also had a herd of elephants, which
included 29 of them. But the King was always unhappy. Why?
It's because he didn't have any “white elephants” among them.
"The king of our neighboring country has 3 white elephants, and
a great king like me doesn't have any!
It's ridiculous!"
A white elephant was very hard to find.
The chance was one out of a hundred. No, actually, it was one out of a
thousand. So people thought a white elephant was a gift
from heaven. Anyway, the King wanted to have a white elephant
really badly. So he put up a notice around his country saying
that he's looking for a white elephant.
"To the person who brings me a white elephant, I'll give
10,000 gold coins!"
Meanwhile, there was a man named "Poba” who was good at
making bowls. He could make everything from a small water bowl
to a huge bathtub. Everyone in the country bought and used
Poba's bowls.
With his skills, Poba became famous and earned a lot of money.
But he was also unhappy all the time.
It's because of “Wooka”, the owner of the laundry next door.
Wooka was the best laundryman in Myanmar.
Any dirty clothes became white as cloud when
Wooka washed it.
Poba was displeased that Wooka lives in a house larger than his.
So he always thought,
“How should I ruin Wooka's business?”
One day, there was a rumor that the King was passing by Poba and
Wooka's village. Poba went out to the road and waited. Then, when he
saw the King's elephant, he got on his hands and knees and spoke.
"Your Majesty! There's a way you can have a white elephant."
"Oh really? Are you sure? Tell me."
"Leave it to Wooka in our village. Wooka has the ability to
make everything white by washing them."
After hearing Poba's words, the King called Wooka as soon as he returned to the palace.
"So you're good at laundry? I'm going to give you the largest elephant in the palace,
so make it white within 15 days. If you disobey my orders, you'll be punished!"
Wooka trembled in fear and didn't know what to do.
It's impossible to make an elephant white! It's not clothing.
Then, Wooka came up with a great idea.
"Yes, Your Majesty. But I need a huge bathtub to make the elephant
white. It won't be difficult if I can get the bathtub."
"Really? Then, is there anyone who can make it?"
"Poba is the best at making bowls, so tell him to make the bathtub for the elephant."
So Poba was also called by the King. The King ordered Poba to make a
huge bathtub that can fit the elephant. Poba felt hopeless.
He was thwarted by his own trick.
But Poba also came up with an idea.
"Maybe Wooka can take the elephant to the river and clean it there?"
Then, Wooka responded.
"The river flows constantly and washes the soap bubbles away.
It's impossible to clean the elephant. Also, the river is too cold
to soak the elephant."
The King nodded after listening to him.
"Wooka is right. Poba, hurry and make him a bathtub for the
elephant."
When Poba came home, he called his wife and all of his 9 children.
His family worked for 3 whole days without any sleep.
Everyone was exhausted after kneading the mud and making it into
a bathtub. Anyway, Poba made a huge bathtub that can fit an elephant.
The bathtub was bigger than Poba's house.
Groups of the King's soldiers moved the bathtub to the palace garden. Then, it was filled with
water. After making a fire underneath, the steam began to rise in about 2 hours.
Wooka poured 12 bags of soap powders into the tub and began to stir it with a long stick.
"Your Majesty. Everything is ready."
The King was pleased by Wooka's words.
"Now, trainer! Let the elephant go into the bathtub!"
But oh dear! As soon as the elephant placed his foreleg into the bathtub,
it broke into pieces.
Within seconds, the palace garden was flooded.
Then, Wooka came up front and said,
"Your Majesty, Poba's bathtub is too weak.
Tell him to make a stronger one."
The King ordered Poba, just like Wooka told him. When Poba came home,
he gathered his family again. This time, he worked for 5 whole days.
Then, he made a very thick, strong bathtub.
But this time, there was another problem.
The bathtub's bottom was too thick so fire couldn't heat the water.
When the hot water was poured, it became cold in the meantime.
"Your Majesty, I can't clean the elephant with tepid water like this."
Then, suddenly the King screamed at Poba.
"You call yourself the best bowlmaker in the country and you can't even
make a bathtub? Go and make another."
So Poba ended up making
7 bathtubs for the elephant.
But it was no use.
When the bathtub was thin, it broke and when it was thick,
the water couldn't be heated.
There was no better plan.
"Dear, our family lost all our money on making the bathtubs
for the elephant. What should we do now?"
"Oh, the King is going to kill us anyway.
It's no use."
Poba's family felt so weak and exhausted that
they fell on the ground.
But the heaven had mercy on Poba and sent a white elephant.
Poba's and Wooka's children found it while playing in the forest. Wooka's son
protected the elephant and Poba's son ran to the palace to inform the King. The King
sent soldiers immediately to catch the white elephant. You can't imagine how happy
he was when he got a white elephant. So he forgot about the elephant bath.
Poba was very thankful.
The King awarded 10,000 gold to Poba's and Wooka's sons.
Both families shared them equally. Since then, Poba and Wooka
prayed to the heaven everyday like this,
"Dear God, please let the white elephant live long."