Childhood Does Affect...

Our beliefs are unshakable. As are dog's tails. Until and unless we change from our root, we don't really change. And our roots are instilled since our childhood. Through our family, siblings, classmates, friends and sometimes even strangers. Even if you are the most powerful person on this planet you achieve nothing without identifying your power. Don't believe me? Read the next story as a proof...its truth its science just converted into a story.

Have you ever wondered how Elephants are kept....they are not free...not at all. Imagine how many chains are needed to tie an Elephant? Maybe you will be shocked, if at all you don't know, that elephants are tied with a single or at times only few ropes, yes, even the hugest elephants. The result of childhood. And this process is used to keep elephants from ancient times.

On the brightest and hottest day of summer, the little boy whose father, a rich merchant, sold elephants to kings and emperors

at huge prices, was roaming when he saw a little baby elephant hardly a month old sitting with its mother in shade. The mother elephant was trying to put it to sleep, but he simply refused. The baby calf wanted to go out and roam in the sun. The boy was fascinated. As he was barely nine years old, he was scared of going near the giant elephants, though they were always tied. He stood staring at the pair for a long time. The baby saw the boy, stood up and ran towards him. The mother elephant tried stopping but to no avail as she was tied to ropes too. The boy was of breath, his heart beat seemed to stop. The calf stopped at a feet's distance. The boy stared without a blink and the cheerful eyes of the innocent calf. He calmed down within seconds. Then he tapped the calf's head twice with affection.

Six months later, the two had become best friends after school the boy used to play with his dear friend till night time. Studying with the calf, having lunch till playing. At last both had only each other to be called as friends. As the calf was now big, it had to be tied. The boy disliked it but had to follow his father's command. The calf was tied with a thick rope to big and long nail inserted in the earth.

Howsoever the elephant tried but he could not get free of it. The elephant refused to have anything till he was tied but soon gave up to hunger. The little boy was helpless, the knot was too tight to untangle by himself. And his father hardly paid any heed to him as he was much more concerned about his business. Over the years the calf gave up and stopped trying. It thought that it will never be able to break the rope. Times changed, but the rope could never get between the two friends. Instead, the boy had started spending more time with his friend to make him feel less lonely. Now, they had been together for five years. Sharing each other's sorrows and happiness. But bad fate awaited them.

The boy's father had to move to another country due to financial reasons. The boy pleaded, begged and cried but his stone hearted selfish father told him that if he makes any more drama he could throw him out. The twelve year boy was in terrible agony. He had no family except the calf. He had lost his mother at the age of three. He terribly missed her. He went and sat near his one and only friend.

Words could not escape his mouth. He sat in still silence. The elephant kept his trunk on his head lightly, and shed a tear. It knew that his friend was going to leave. The boy stood up and hugged it. The elephant let out a low trumpet. By now both understood each other. The boy spent the night with the elephant.

As the elephant woke up it did not find the boy anywhere. It cried sending weird sounds through his trunk. He blew its trumpet loud and clear, a typical sound used to call the boy. But nobody came. His mother was tied to rope and crestfallen seeing her child's misery

she could not even go near it. The calf tried calling again and again, day after day but to no avail. Summers, monsoons and Winters passed and so did the calf's ....mother. The poor elephant was all alone. Only the caretakers came kept food and water and left without patting, hugging or talking. The elephant remembered the old days of sprinkling water on his mother while bathing in the river

and playing with the boy. He used to call them regularly on top of its voice. Days to weeks, weeks to months and months to years nor did his mother neither did his friend arrived. On the other hand, the boy had grew up and almost forgotten his childhood friend. He had new friends, new school and a new home with lots of toys. And the elephant had been tied in the same rope.

Five, ten, twenty and thirty years passed by. The little boy grew up to be successful businessman, rich too and now he was married and had a six-year old daughter too. He was a happy person. Probably the happiest. But unfortunately his father died on a voyage as his ship drowned. The boy, now a man was heir to all his father's property took over. He got a call from his childhood house which was managed by his father's manager. Suddenly, all the memories flashed back like lightning. Tears rolled down his eyes continuously. "How could I forget my first friend, my best friend, my partner, my player my....." He couldn't continue anymore. His wife kept her hand on his shoulder. " Wipe your tears, dear. It's not too late let's go. I know it was not just an elephant for you. I will keep Jessica with my sister for today. Get up, please. Let's go" said his wife.

Both of them went to his old house. And inquired about the elephant. The rushed towards the backyard. The boy's small baby calf had turned out to become a handsome giant elephant.

But it was really funny to see such a big elephant tied to such a small rope. It was because the elephant had not tried ever after of breaking the ropes. Even after gaining the strength to break it within seconds. In this way even the largest of the elephants could be kept in control that too using their own minds. Their weak minds. Why? because of his childhood belief that he cannot do it. Same with us...remember not to fall victim to our childhood. This was the moral of the story. But not the end. Read Further.

The elephant raised its head to have a glance at the guest. The cheerfulness came back. The childishness came back. The man ran...to his friend hugged its trunk. Patted it in the same way he had done for the first time. Friends had united, childhood memories had come back and life was again at its happiest point not only for the human but also for the animal.