Years ago, one of our stepmother’s brothers told us stories of working elephants in Burma, now Myanmar, on the Sino-Peninsula. Our uncle served in the Air Force in World War II. He was fighting the Japanese in dense tropical forest. Fortunately, he was not injured during the war. So we got him back home unscathed. When visiting the family, he often amused us, the kids, with elephant stories from the war zone. We thought they were hilarious. And we never tired of hearing one particular story over and over. Imaging! A monster-sized beast like an elephant could work willingly along with its human handler.
Back in the 30's, Burmese forests were full of teaks and other oil-rich woods. Without powerful harvesting tractors like the ones we have now, the natives bred the local elephants in captivity and trained the docile resident pachyderms with their lumbering snout and curved tusks to fell and haul heavy trees. Surprisingly to know, in the old day the elephants also got paid for their hard works in the woods.
And the story goes like this:
After a day’s toiling in the humid jungles, both the elephant and its handler got paid for the day’s work. With Kyat in their pocket, or should we say in their "trunk," they returned to their camp to relax. And it's also time to get the money out of the elephant's snout for the provisions they needed. To get the elephant dislodge the money, its handler taught his workmate gambling with dice. To throw the dice cubes, the elephant must first let go of the cash held in its trunk. When the bet was placed, the happy giant was ready to roll. After each throw, to express its immense pleasure, the lumbering thrower would whirl around like what Jumbo, a circus elephant, did under the Big-Top on a small round platform. During its celebratory spin, its handler got chances to turn the dice face over to his advantage. At the end of the day, the most joyful croupier lost all of its wages to its trusted handler. - Ayee
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