"The Elephant King of Goodness" is a Jakata tale from India.

Once upon a time in the forests at the foot of the Himalayas, thousands of elephants lived peacefully. Their leader was a magnificent white elephant, a creature whose outer beauty reflected his inner goodness. But after a while he grew tired of being the leader and moved with his family to a secluded place far from the others. There they lived in quiet and near-solitude.

One day, the white elephant stepped on a thorn. As he limped home, he passed loggers at work. Every day these men crossed the river by boat to chop down trees and haul logs home. In this way they made a humble living.

When they saw the elephant hobbling past, they ran to help. "What's wrong?" they asked, and the poor elephant lay down and lifted his foot.

When they saw the wound, they quickly pulled the thorn out, then washed and wrapped the elephant's foot.

As the deeply grateful elephant walked home in the dusk, he promised he would never forget the loggers' kindness.

When his foot healed, he returned to the spot where the loggers were hard at work. He began to pull up trees for them, then helped roll the logs down to their boats. Every day the white elephant returned and, with his help, the men made a better living for their families.

As the elephant aged, he began to bring along his son to help. The son was even more magnificent, white as snow with ivory tusks and eyes that sparkled like jewels.

"My son will help you now," the elephant told the men, "for I no longer have the strength."

The elephant told his son the story of the loggers' kindness. "Promise you will stay and look after these people," he instructed. His son promised he would.

The young elephant kept his word. Every evening when he finished work, he would watch the men paddle home, and then the elephant would wade into the river to play and swim.

One evening a man from Benares, as the city was known in those days, was traveling through the forest. When he saw the white elephant in the river, skin glistening in the light of the setting sun, the man decided this magnificent creature must belong to the king.

He approached the elephant. Petting his trunk, the man said, "I will take you to our king. A creature as beautiful as you belongs in a palace, and the king must own all that is special."

The elephant shook his head. "I must stay and look after the loggers."

But the man from Benares cared nothing for the loggers or for the elephant's desire. The king would reward him for such a prize. So the next evening he returned with other men to capture the white elephant.

The men surrounded the elephant, who knew he must not fight — for if he did, he might harm one of these men. So he went along to the palace.

The next morning when the loggers discovered the elephant was gone, they mourned.

At the palace, the king ordered a feast for his new prized possession, but the elephant had no desire to eat. The king instructed trainers to take the animal to his private lake, but the elephant had no desire to swim. He wanted only to return home.

The trainers explained to the king that though the elephant was beautiful, his outer beauty only reflected his soul and all its goodness. "The elephant wishes only to help those who depend upon him," they said.

Humbled by the elephant's compassion, the king set him free. And forever afterward, people understood that the white elephant, like all of nature's special gifts, was not meant for just one person. He was, rather, a gift for all humankind.