The king of the forest, the lion, beat the drums and announced:
“No child should be left illiterate. Everyone must receive proper education. All boys and girls must go to school. After finishing their studies, each will receive a certificate.”
In a class test the elephant’s child failed.
“Which subject did he fail?” the elephant asked the school authorities.
The elephant was deeply troubled. His son failed? That was unacceptable. He must hire the best tutors. No compromise could be made about his child’s education. The elephant’s only worry now was to teach his son to climb trees — he must top the class in “tree-climbing” no matter what.
When the first-year final results came out, it turned out that the elephant, the camel, the giraffe, the fish — all had failed.
The monkey’s child had topped the class. A grand ceremony was arranged on a public stage with invited guests, and the monkey’s child was awarded the medal as topper.
Humiliated, the elephant, the camel, and the giraffe beat their children mercilessly. After so many tutors, so much expense — and still this result!
“You lazy thing, after so much effort you still can’t climb a tree? Useless! Learn from the monkey’s child how to climb!”
The fish’s child had also failed — in every subject except swimming.
The principal said, “Your child has an attendance problem. He can’t stay in class more than five minutes.”
The fish glared angrily at his son. The boy said, “Mother, I can’t breathe; it’s terrible. Couldn’t you find a school in water for me?”
“Shut up, you brat,” the fish snapped. “Where will you find a better school than this? Focus on your studies; don’t worry about the school!”
The elephant, the camel, and the giraffe, having beaten their failing children, were walking home. On the way they met the fox.
“What happened? Tell me!” the fox asked.
The elephant said, “With such big bodies we couldn’t climb trees. The monkey’s child topped the class — we’ve lost all pride and honor!”
The fox burst into loud laughter. Stopping to compose himself, he said, “I don’t understand why you needed to climb trees at all. Listen, elephant brother — lift your long trunk and pluck the largest fruit from the tree and eat it. Why bother climbing?
“Camel brother, you have a long, tall neck. Stretch it and pluck the best fruits.
“Sister fish, enroll your child in a
river school. Teach him to swim properly. One day he will cross rivers and sail the oceans and make your name proud. Don’t send him to the
king’s school; he will die there.”
We must remember: education is for the child, not the child for education. Every child has some special talent. Our responsibility is to discover it and show them the right path. Then you will see — they will find their own destination.
