The following is a story that I think can't be told enough. I just recently learned about it, and it has already positively affected my life. It's a story by Jorge Bucay, about an elephant. When I was a small boy, I was completely fascinated by the circus, and I liked the animals the most. Especially the elephant was my favorite. As I later learned, it's the favorite animal of most children. During one of the circus performances, the huge animal showcased its enormous weight, its impressive size, and strength. After the performance though, and in the time until just before the performance, the elephant stood chained to a small stake in the ground. The stake was nothing more than a piece of wood, just a few centimeters in the ground. And although the chain was quite powerful and heavy, for me, there was no doubt that an animal with the power to pull out a whole tree with its roots would have enough strength to free itself from the stake. This riddle puzzled me until today. What's keeping him back? Why doesn't he get up and leave? As a six or seven-year-old, I still trusted the wisdom of adults. So, I asked a teacher, a father, or an uncle about the riddle with the elephant. One of them told me that the elephant wouldn't leave because it was trained. My next question was obvious: "And if he's trained, why does he need to be chained?" I can't remember ever having gotten a conclusive answer. After a while, I forgot about the riddle with the chained elephant and only remembered it when I met other people who asked themselves the same question. A few years ago, fortunately, I found that someone was wise enough to answer the question:
The chained elephant
The chained elephant
The chained elephant
The following is a story that I think can't be told enough. I just recently learned about it, and it has already positively affected my life. It's a story by Jorge Bucay, about an elephant. When I was a small boy, I was completely fascinated by the circus, and I liked the animals the most. Especially the elephant was my favorite. As I later learned, it's the favorite animal of most children. During one of the circus performances, the huge animal showcased its enormous weight, its impressive size, and strength. After the performance though, and in the time until just before the performance, the elephant stood chained to a small stake in the ground. The stake was nothing more than a piece of wood, just a few centimeters in the ground. And although the chain was quite powerful and heavy, for me, there was no doubt that an animal with the power to pull out a whole tree with its roots would have enough strength to free itself from the stake. This riddle puzzled me until today. What's keeping him back? Why doesn't he get up and leave? As a six or seven-year-old, I still trusted the wisdom of adults. So, I asked a teacher, a father, or an uncle about the riddle with the elephant. One of them told me that the elephant wouldn't leave because it was trained. My next question was obvious: "And if he's trained, why does he need to be chained?" I can't remember ever having gotten a conclusive answer. After a while, I forgot about the riddle with the chained elephant and only remembered it when I met other people who asked themselves the same question. A few years ago, fortunately, I found that someone was wise enough to answer the question: