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Best Friends [The Power of Friendship] Before the time of this story， people in Asia used to say that there would never be a time when an elephant and a dog would be friends. Elephants simply did not like dogs， and dogs were afraid of elephants. When dogs are frightened by those who are bigger than they are， they often bark very loudly， to cover up their fear. When dogs used to do this when they saw elephants， the elephants would get annoyed and chase them. Elephants had no patience at all when it came to dogs. Even if a dog were quiet and still， any nearby elephant would automatically attack him. This is why everybody agreed that elephants and dogs were natural enemies， just like lions and tigers， or cats and mice. Once upon a time， there was a royal bull elephant， who was very well fed and cared for. In the neighborhood of the elephant shed， there was a scrawny， poorly fed， stray dog. He was attracted by the smell of the rich sweet rice being fed to the royal elephant. So he began sneaking into the shed and eating the wonderful rice that fell from the elephants mouth. He liked it so much， that soon he would eat nowhere else. While enjoying his food， the big mighty elephant did not notice the tiny shy stray dog. By eating such rich food， the once underfed dog gradually got bigger and stronger， and became very handsome looking. The good-natured elephant began to notice him. Since the dog had gotten used to being around the elephant， he had lost his fear. So he did not bark at him. Because he was not annoyed by the friendly dog， the elephant gradually got used to him. | 
