Glenn Stewart Coles, 9251 Yonge Street, Suite 8-924, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, L4C 9T3
Text Box: Many years ago, people got excited when the circus came to town. Usually traveling overnight from their last location, the circus would arrive and lay claim to a field, somewhat beyond the town limits. They made camp close enough to draw townspeople, but distant enough that the trip to the circus was an event, a change in realities that required some walking. The circus would arrive with confined animals such as lions and tigers. The felines would roar as they padded around their cage, and let any observer know that attack was imminent, if only the cage door were open. There were other animals that walked freely, or were kept in place with minimal effort. One of these animals was the elephant. There it would stand, towering above all others, eating from a bale of hay. One could easily see the chain that led from the elephant’s ankle, attached to a wooden stake. Though large and mighty, the animal stayed where it was told, victim of an illusion. When the elephant was young, the trainers had attached a rope to its hind leg. The rope was then tied to a stake in the ground. The baby elephant was placed just a little too far from its mother, and a little too far from the food. It would pull at the rope, over and over again, trying to escape from its shackles. But the rope was too strong, and the wooden peg had been hammered deep into the ground. So the young elephant learned patience. Once he knew that escape was impossible, he gave up trying. Sometimes he would make sounds, trying to get the trainers attention. Sometimes this would work, and the trainer would feed him. But if the master were away, the elephant would stand patiently, only trying to reach things that were close. What the elephant failed to realize was that the rules had changed. The rope that could hold a small baby elephant would have snapped with the slightest attempt, if only the grown-up elephant had tried. The peg that had held so tightly against juvenile tugs would crack so easily under any strain from the adult. But he knew that escape was impossible, and that any attempts were futile and frustrating. So he stayed, locked into place by an illusion, waiting for handouts. © Copyright Glenn Stewart Coles, 2005 First Published August 14, 2005

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An Elephant Tied

 

A trip to the circus was an event, a change in realities that required some walking.