Dreams (Nepal)

An owl had its home in a tree under which an elephant used to come to spend the night. Gradually the two became good friends. One evening, the elephant while looking for food, blundered into a gathering of demons.

On seeing the elephant, the demon-king began to shout: "It's him!"

"Who is he?" asked his attendants.

"Last night, I dreamt I ate an elephant," said the demon. "It looked remarkably like this one here. Catch him and let me eat him so that my dream may come true."

The demons caught the elephant who was so terrified. His knees began to buckle as the king, accompanied by his queen, began to advance on him.

Suddenly his friend, the owl, came swooping down, shrieking: "It's her!" and settled on the elephant's head.

The king stopped dead in his tracks.

"Who are you referring to, bird?" he growled.

"The queen," said the owl. "Last night I dreamt I married her. Please marry us so that my dream may come true."

"I will never marry an owl!" declared the queen.

"And nobody is asking you to, my dear," said the king. "Dreams are not to be taken seriously. See, here is the elephant I ate in my dream but I'm letting him go."

The elephant lumbered away, muttering thanks to his friend.