Friendship

Gajaraj, the king's favourite elephant, lived in luxury but had no friend to play with. Only the kind mahout fed and bathed him - a caretaker, not a companion.

Gajaraj occupied the best booth in the royal stables. The king ordered fine care, yet the elephant was sad. Apart from the mahout who served food and led him to the pond, he had no one to share joy. 'I wish I had a friend I can play with,' he thought.

One evening a tired stray dog entered the stable. Gajaraj pushed food toward him. The dog wagged his tail, ate, and slept. The mahout did not mind.

A hungry stray wandered in one late evening. Gajaraj saw his exhaustion and slid food across. The visitor wagged thanks and ate eagerly before falling asleep. Next morning the mahout noticed Gajaraj's happier mood and tossed crumbs to the dog, who wagged again.

At the pond Gajaraj showered himself and playfully splashed the dog, who yelped. On the way home the elephant lifted the dog onto his back for a joyful ride.

When Gajaraj bathed, the dog followed. The elephant sprayed water with his trunk; the dog yelped because he hated showers. The mahout laughed. Returning, Gajaraj picked up his small friend and placed him on his back - a ride the dog loved.

A farmer recognised the dog as Buntee and took him home. Both friends cried. Gajaraj stopped eating for days; Buntee also refused food at the farm.

A passing farmer called 'Buntee!' and hugged his lost dog. The mahout let him go. When the rope tightened, Buntee yelped and Gajaraj winced - tears unseen by adults. Gajaraj left food untouched day after day. At the farmer's house Buntee would not eat either.

The farmer freed Buntee to return to his friend. Weak but eager, the dog ran to the stable. Both ate together; the mahout and farmer became friends too.

The farmer asked if Buntee missed his friend and removed the rope. The dog licked his hand once and raced to the stable. Gajaraj swung him joyously with his trunk. The mahout brought food: 'Both of you eat first.' The farmer followed; watching the friends eat, the mahout hugged him - 'I've found a friend too.'

The speaker prays that friendships stay most important. She wants to give her best, share hopes, fulfil friends' wishes, and love them without judging from far away.

The poem is a prayer: may friendships always matter most. With special friends the speaker feels blessed and promises to give her very best - sharing hopes and doing all a friend can to make wishes come true. She will use her heart to see who friends truly are and love them as they are, without distant judgment.

Mario boasted of many school friends. His grandfather bet a fruit chaat that most were only companions. He gave Mario an invisible magic chair that would reveal true friends.

Mario loved showing off how friendly he was. Grandfather wagered fruit chaat that few were real friends - many were mere companions. From the attic he produced a special invisible chair: sit on it at school and magic would show who truly cares.

At break Mario tried to sit on the invisible chair and fell repeatedly while classmates laughed. Finally Guneet, Asma and Deepa held him up in mid-air - his real friends.

Mario asked everyone to form a circle and tried to sit on air, falling clumsily while others laughed. After many tries he seemed to sit suspended. Looking around, he saw Guneet, Asma and Deepa supporting him. Others had only mocked his falls. Grandfather's test had worked.

Mario told his three friends the truth. They visited grandfather, enjoyed stories and fruit chaat, and used the chair test again for lifelong friends.

Mario explained grandfather's lesson: true friends care when you struggle; they do not enjoy your bad luck. The four visited grandfather, won the bet, and feasted on fruit chaat. They repeated the invisible-chair test many times - whoever passed became friends for life.