“Thaaththa,” Bindu Udagedara asked, “what is all this fuss about elephants?”
“I would expect some fuss about elephants, Bindu, this being the Kandy perahera season...” Bindu’s father Percy said.

“No, thaaththa,” Bindu said, “they say that some elephants have been stolen from the Pinnawela elephant orphanage...”
“I am not so sure of what could have happened to them since they are elephants but I could have told you what could have happened if they were humans...” Percy proposed.

“And what is that, thaaththa?” Bindu wanted to know.
“Why,” Percy explained, “they could have been abducted in a white van, assaulted and dropped off somewhere else...”
“Or, thaaththa,” Bindu suggested, “they could have even been escorted to the airport and put on a flight to England by a minister...”

“That is also true,” Percy conceded, “but tell me, Bindu, what is all this fuss about two elephants being stolen?”
“The fuss is because they are two baby elephants,” Bindu said, “and because they have been separated from their mother...”

“But, Bindu,” Percy protested, “even baby elephants aren’t so small that they can be smuggled out unseen...”
“Well,” Bindu said, “it is not that they are missing, thaaththa...”
“Where are they, then?” Percy wanted to know.

“Well, they are supposed to be in Kandy and waiting to be gifted by Mahinda maama to the Temple of the Tooth...” Bindu declared.
“So, what happens next?” Percy demanded.

“Well,” Bindu observed, “some have filed a case in court challenging this...”
“I suppose they will argue elephants also have human rights and that this is a violation of their human rights,” Percy said.
“But thaaththa,” Bindu wondered, “what will happen then?”
“Whatever happens, Bindu,” Percy said, “I am not surprised...”
“Why is that, thaaththa?” Bindu inquired.

“Why, Bindu, Mahinda maama is regularly in the habit of stealing elephants...” Percy said.
“How can you say that?” Bindu was surprised, “as far as we know, this is the first such instance and even then, it is not quite correct to say he was stealing them...”
“He may not have stolen these elephants,” Percy agreed, “but he’s stolen quite a few elephants of the two legged kind...”
“Why do you say that, thaaththa?” Bindu was puzzled.

“Why, Bindu, remember, how he first signed a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with the elephant leader...” Percy recalled.
“Yes,” Bindu remembered, “that is when the elephants agreed to work with him...”
“And then,” Percy said, “before you could say ‘UNP’, he stole Uncle Karu and sixteen other elephants...”
“That is true...” Bindu conceded.

“And not only did he steal them, he also gave them some heavy weights to carry...”
“Why do you say that?” Bindu asked.
“Why, Bindu, look at all those elephants singing and dancing to Mahinda maama’s tune...” Percy said, “if we ever see anyone speaking on behalf of Mahinda maama on television or in the newspapers, it is a stolen elephant...”
“How can you say that?” Bindu wanted to know.

“Why,” Percy explained, “there is a stolen elephant talking about milk food and gas prices, there is another stolen elephant discussing foreign affairs, then there are two stolen elephants, a professor and a doctor telling us how good the IMF loan is and then there is another one talking about human rights and there is even an elephant advising us about media matters...”
“But that must be all, thaaththa...” Bindu suggested.

“No, of course not,” Percy pointed out, “why, there is a stolen elephant who was handling tourism now dispensing justice and even sports is being handled by a stolen elephant while the defence spokesman is also a stolen elephant...”
“That is quite a number of stolen elephants indeed...” Bindu said.
“And that is not to mention the stolen elephant who is dealing with construction and the other stolen elephant who handles our mail....” Percy recalled.

“So,” Bindu said, “stealing another two baby elephants is no big deal, then...”
“Well,” Percy declared, “I don’t think Mahinda maama needs to steal baby elephants at all, Bindu...”
“Why do you say that, thaaththa?” Bindu queried.

“After the elections at Uva, more elephants will willingly join him and that could include a speaking elephant as well because his baby elephant has already joined Mahinda maama...” Percy declared.
Bindu didn’t quite know what to say to that.