Jumbo was enjoying himself chewing sugarcane in the jungle when something unusual grabbed his attention. He dropped the sugarcane and inspected the objects eagerly. It was bottles and he tried to guess its contents. He stretched his trunk and lifted one up for closer examination. Out of nowhere, Dingo, the monkey appeared. “So, you have found the bottle. Looks like someone from the city left them here.”
Jumbo asked, “But what is this?”
Dingo lifted a bottle, removed the lid and began gulping down its contents. “This is milk, and this is how you drink it.”
“Oh ho...I will also enjoy this” Jumbo was excited. Slurping up the last drop, he sighed with satisfaction. “How enjoyable! I have never had anything so delicious.”
He asked Dingo, “How can I have more?”
Dingo replied, “But this is available only in the city.”
“How can we get bottles every day?” Jumbo asked in despair.
Dingo thought hard and said excitedly, “I know a dairy not too far off along the road that connects the jungle to the city. We can steal some bottles from there.”
“That’s not fair. The owner of the diary will run at a loss. There must be some other way,” said Jumbo.
“If we ask the owner to give us some bottles, he won’t, unless we pay him,” said a disappointed Dingo.
“But we can help him and then ask for some bottles. I am sure he will not deny us the milk bottles in exchange for our help,” said Jumbo optimistically.
Long wait
The duo started their daily visit to the dairy. Every morning, they would sit across the road and wait for an opportunity to help. Unfortunately, their help was not called for, and their wait extended for many days.
One hazy, cloudy morning, both friends noticed that a milk van had stopped at the entrance of the dairy. After loading the crates of milk and other products, the driver found that the rear wheels of the van were stuck in the mud. He got down and called for help. In spite of their best efforts,the wheels did not move an inch.
Dingo prompted Jumbo, “I think our help is required.”
Jumbo crossed the street and reached the van. The people were frightened by the huge animal and hid behind a tree. Jumbo lost no time and pushed the van out of the mud. He raised his trunk and trumpeted his happiness.
The owner, convinced about Jumbo’s intentions, approached him and patted his truck. Jumbo lifted his trunk and brushed his hair. The owner said, “I am grateful for your help. If the van was delayed further, I would have suffered a loss of money and customers’ trust. How can I thank you?”
Dingo felt ecstatic and hopped up to Jumbo. He reached the crate in which bottles of flavoured milk were stacked, started circling it and clapping.
“Oh, so you like milk?” said the dairy owner, as he picked up two bottles and handed them to a happy Jumbo and Dingo.
The dairy owner said, “You can come here every day and get your milk bottles. I might need your help whenever it rains.”
Jumbo and Dingo nodded happily before rushing off to drink the milk.