அறங்கூறா னல்ல செயினும் ஒருவன்
புறங்கூறா னென்றல் இனிது
In a village, there were two friends. One was a dhobi one who washes clothes, and the other was a potter who made clay pots. Both of them were working in the king’s palace.
One day, there was a fight between the two friends. Instead of resolving their differences themselves, they complained to the king about each other’s shortcomings without knowing to each other. Their aim was to expel the other person from the palace.
The potter, who made clay pots, wanted to trap the dhobi and make him work under the king’s command. So, he went to the king and said, “O king, our elephant in the stable has turned dark. Please give the elephant to the dhobi for some time so that he can make it white again.”
The king was foolish. Without thinking much, he summoned the dhobi and ordered him to take the elephant and make it white by washing nicely. The dhobi was confused by king’s order. The dhobi came to know all this was because of the potter who had said something to the king. Next day he went to see the king and said, “O king, to make the elephant white I need to follow the technique of steming the elephant like clothes. So I need a big pot to steam the elephant. So, My Lord, please command the potter to create a large container for the elephant.”
The king captured the potter and ordered, “Create a big container to make the elephant to fit in it, and then give it to me.” The potter pretended to be obedient and nodded in agreement.
Finally, both of them met. The potter said, “I criticized you, and you criticized me. It caused trouble for both of us. Let’s not let such a thing happen again.”
“We will correct our mistakes ourselves,” replied the potter. “Just like before, let’s remain good friends.”
They then went to the king and apologised for their mistakes.
