white elephant (idea)

In india elephants are revered; white elephants, amazingly rare, were considered sacred.

The monarch of india was one time given a white elephant as a gift by another monarch. He was thrilled and felt honored to have such a rare and blessed creature. He assigned twenty men specially to care for his prize.

Time went by, and the elephant was fine, but did not look quite as majestic as it had, somehow. The king asked his advisor what should be done. The man said the king was not honoring the godly beast enough, nor was it properly cared for; the king should request the elephant be given ten bowls of fresh, exotic fruit every day for its health. But since it was a holy animal, it cold have only the best. It must be fed from bowls of solid gold. So the king commissioned these bowls and executed the order that the beast feast on mango and papaya and banana and pineapple each day. And five more men were required for this task.

More time passed, and for a time the animal looked better. But as months went by, the elephant began to look droopy once again. The wise man this time recommended twenty bowls of the finest grain be fed to the white animal each day. And again, the bowls must be gold, to reverence the creature properly. And the king gave these orders too.

This continued throughout the years. Bowls of fresh berries, corn, a new thing each time, in golden containers again. The king could no longer truly afford the upkeep of this animal. But it was such an honor to posess a white elephant he could not just let it go. To do so would displease the gods whose creature this was, and dishonour his kingdom.