Guest guest Posted December 17, 2002 Report Share Posted December 17, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/12/17/features/kingdog & sec=\ features ________________________ Tuesday, December 17, 2002 Royal canine tale THE tale of a stray dog born on the streets of Bangkok who won the heart of Thailand & #8217;s much-loved King Bhumibol Adulyadej has become the nation & #8217;s latest publishing sensation. The king himself penned the story of Thongdaeng, or “Copper” who was sent to the palace as a tiny puppy after the monarch took an interest in the treatment of street dogs in the Bangkok suburb of Wang Tonglarng. “The day Thongdaeng was presented to the King, she cried all the way from Wang Tonglarng,” the king recalled in the book whose first print run of 100,000 copies sold out within hours. “Strangely enough, once she had been presented to His Majesty, she stopped crying and fell fast asleep, free from all worries, loneliness and fear,” reads the lavishly illustrated 84-page book. The story lauds Thongdaeng & #8217;s qualities of loyalty and humility, recounting how she behaves respectfully in front of the king and still shows gratitude to the older dog who adopted her when she arrived at the palace. In a country where the king enjoys a level of love and respect that his counterparts elsewhere can only dream about, the book has been interpreted as not just a feel-good tale, but also as a homily to Thais & #8211; politicians included & #8211; on how they should behave. She is “different from many others who, after having become an important personality, might treat with contempt someone of lower status who, in fact, should be the object of gratitude,” the king writes. “Other dogs, even her own children, would show their delight when they meet the king by jumping onto his lap and licking his face. Thongdaeng would never do that. “She always stays lower than him. Even when he pulls her up to embrace her, Thongdaeng would quickly crouch on the floor, her ears down in a respectful manner, as if saying & #8216;I dare not; it & #8217;s not proper & #8217;.” In a speech to mark his 75th birthday recently, much of which was devoted to Thongdaeng, the king made a light-hearted reference to the scrutiny his words have been put under and deflected suggestions the book was a pointed message to those running the country. “After you read the Thongdaeng book, you might think I am being sarcastic about some people, but I & #8217;m not. I would not be sarcastic about people because those people would be angry with me,” he joked. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who faced unusually frank criticism from the king in last year & #8217;s birthday address which warned Thailand was teetering towards disaster, praised the book and advised the public to read it. “His majesty & #8217;s latest book Khun Thongdaeng, although it is written in simple words, always brings a smile to readers and the book contains much food for thought,” he said during his recent birthday celebrations. The publisher says it has ordered another print run of 100,000 copies to cope with the demand from the king & #8217;s subjects. “The number of copies of the Thongdaeng book we print may reach 300,000 to 400,000 copies,” said a spokesman for the Amarin Book Centre. It is not the first time the king & #8217;s favourite dog has turned into a marketing sensation: Tens of thousands of T-shirts emblazoned with her image have been sold to raise money for his charitable foundations. The shirts became a fashion craze in February when the king and his four children were photographed wearing them as he left hospital where he had been treated for a prostate condition. King Bhumibol, the world & #8217;s longest-reigning monarch, has seen more than 20 prime ministers, 16 constitutions and 17 coups in Thailand since he ascended the throne in 1946 at the age of 18. & #8211; AFP <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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