Sukumar Finds a Friend

There once was a young Indian prince, a raja, who loved to spend time with his pet elephant Sukumar.

They played and laughed. The raja would dress Sukumar in fancy outfits and ride him everywhere.

But as the raja grew older, he became too busy to roam the forests and fields with his giant playmate.

Sukumar spent his days alone in the royal stable. He missed the raja terribly.

Bala, the stable keeper, knew Sukumar was lonely and was kind to the elephant.

Each morning, Bala led Sukumar to a nearby stream. The elephant filled his trunk with cool water and showered himself—and Bala, too!