The Shaw of Ireek and the Shaw of Uran were neighbors, but that didn't mean they got along. Protocol and custom demanded that they be civil to one another even though there was no trust or friendship.
The Feast of Dummyrum was coming up and custom demanded that they give one another gifts. The giver of the least lavish gift would "lose face", so they raided their treasuries to provide a gift with much embellishment and show.
The Shaw of Ireek sent the Shaw of Uran a beautiful scarf wrapped around a myriad of gems and jewels. The gorgeous package was put on display in the center of the Taj Me Hall to be admired by the populace.
And the Shaw of Uran sent the Shaw of Ireek a sacred beast to be worshipped by the multitudes: a huge while elephant carrying a festooned Howdy on her back displaying dancing girls and muscians playing Hagbags, the national instrument of Uran. The elephant was named Joomba.
The multudes roared their approval and bowed down in worship to Joomba, the sacred white elephant. The Shaw of Uran basked in his new found "face" as giver of the most Lavish Gift, and he smiled at a secret he knew
The next day, the Shaw of Ireek discovered that Joomba was hungry and thirsty, the dancing girls were cranky and the musicians were off-key and their Hagbags were sour. What does one feed a white elephant. He discovered that Joomba ate tons of green grass, and juicy fruits from gum trees that had to be imported at great expense.
He raided the treasury to pay for imported grass and fruit. And the next day he had to do it again. Meanwhile Joomba tromped around the Taj Me Hall pooping and trumpeting in ill temper when not enough worshippers were there to bow down. More worshippers had to be hired.
On the fourth day, the Shaw of Ireek was bankrupt, and his Shawdom collapsed.
End of that story and beginning of this: I am giving my grand daughter, aged twenty, her first car. It is a used Mercedes Benz 300-E. It has 229,698 miles on it. It uses premium gas in the age of sky high gas prices. It has a power sun roof and even has windshield wipers on the head lights. It is a wonderful luxury car. I love my grand daughter, but I wonder if she will have to name the car Joomba.
7 comments:
I think this letter should be attached to the gift...what a great story.............Lol..Bambi
I think she will like it... and the story explains it all... at least, to many of us adults!!
Jackie
what a great story:)
Deb
That is an interesting Sci-Fi story. I am sure your granddaughter will enjoy the Mercedes. I would venture that you took excellent care of it and it will go many miles more as well as Mercedes are built. Joomba would be an appropriate name for it's requirement of the exotic gas at an exotic price. mark
Ahh, yes, an no one remembered that the eldest daughter of the Shaw was named "Cynicalia" because she said...hmmm, that white elephant is probably a gas guzzling, gum pooping dinosaur in disguise!
LOL...loved the story, and maybe the Granddaughter will make a killing on the Mercedes by selling it to someone else!
;-) Kate
I forget the country, but somewhere in Africa, a tribal leader (of a primitive tribe) somehow acquired a Mercedes. He had no gas, and would just sit in it and roll the windows down all day. It's a funny story, and I wish I had the link for it.
In my family cars go up a generation, not down. I bought my daughter's Jeep when she moved out of the country. At the family discount. It's black, but it's a white elephant too. When I get to 200,000 miles maybe I can give it to a grandchild. Great idea. Love the story. Mrs. L
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