News at Ten: Week 11 Storytelling

Begin News Transcript

Bert:

Tonight we bring you a story that will warm your heart and your soul.  And who do we have to thank? Why our illustrious and wise king of course.  Here's Tamera O'Keefe with the latest.

Tamara:

Thanks Bert.  I standing here at the royal palace where the reunion of a lifetime is about to commence.  Here at the animal sanctuary which is provided by King Bramha-datta lives a beautiful elephant named Bubbles.  She is the pride of the king's elephant guard. 

Judas:

I didn't know what I had done.  All of the sudden she wouldn't eat.  She wouldn't sleep.

Tamara:

You see, Bubbles, had made a friend.  A friend that she would go to the ends of the world for.

Judas:

The peasant came and offered me some cash for the Bella.  How was I supposed to know it would affect Bubbles so badly.

King Bramha-datta:

I was livid I tell you.  Livid.  It was obvious to anyone who cared to look that Bubbles and Bella were inseparable friends.  It was ridiculous that elephant keeper sold him.  

Tamara:

That's right folks.  You heard it here first.  The kings favorite elephant had befriended man's best friend!  And when Bella was no longer around Bubbles grew listless.

King Bramha-datta:

I was really worried about Bubbles.  She was losing weight rapidly.  I was afraid she was going to die.  I launched a search party for Bella as soon as I heard she had been sold.

Peasant:

I can tell ya.  That King guy we have.  Sure is generous.

(clinking of gold coins heard in a bag)

Best thing I ever did buying that dog off of Judas.  

(sounds of Peasant being robbed of his 

gold coins is heard in the background)

Tamara:

One man's good fortune was another's pain.

Bubbles:

She was my only friend in the whole world.  At first she just ate whatever was left over.  You know that I dropped.

Bella:

I liked to call myself her apron.  She was always such a messy eater.

Bubbles:

But Bella grew on me you know?  And what do you do when that is taken away.  I mean I lost my family when I was young to ivory poachers.  They came and killed everyone.  That's when King Brahma-datta took pitty on me and took me in.  But finally having someone to call family and then...she was just gone.

King Brahma-datta:

That's why I fired him.  I should have had him whipped.  It's inexcusable that he separated those two.  Besides everyone on this land is mine, not his.  He sold what was mine.

Judas:

Yeah I got canned.  It wasn't nice either.  I had to clean out all the manure from all of the stables first. It was sick work  

(Pause)

But I'm glad they are back together.  I deserved it.  

Tamara:

Now we are about to see the two reunited after such a scary ordeal for the first time.  King Brahma-datta has made sure that no one would interfere with their reunion.  We are truly blessed to have such a wise king.  We now go to Draupadi for the play by play reunion:

Bella and Bubbles play fetch

Courtesy of Youtube

Authors Note: This story is based off of the story of "Faithful Friends" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock.  In it an elephants best friend is sold to a peasant.  When the king finds this out he asks the Buddha what he should do.  The Buddha says to announce there will be a fine for any person found keeping the dog.  When the person who bought the animal heard this he released the dog and it rushed back to the elephant.

In my version I took it from the perspective of a news transcript of coverage of the reuniting.  I used real footage from a news crew about an elephant and a dog being best friends.  In my story the King pays a finders fee to the peasant but the peasant ends up losing it to thieves for comic relief.