The Elephant and his Keeper

There was once an elephant who suffered cruel treatment at the hands of his keeper. The keeper, aware of the elephant’s intelligence and fearing revenge, used to sleep some distance away from the peg to which the elephant was tied.

One night, the elephant picked up a long branch and chewed one end to separate its fibres. Then, with careful precision, he twisted the fibres into the long hair of the sleeping man, dragged him close, and trampled him to death.

The lesson of the story is that even the gentlest creatures have their limits. Once the seeds of cruelty are sown, the fruit inevitably finds its way back to the oppressor. It is not a question of if the balance of power will change; it is a matter of when. Therefore, always be just when you are in power, for revolutions always come.