In the days gone by there lived a Gamarala (a farmer) and he owned fertile paddy fields.
One day he found that his paddy was being eaten and the thief had huge footsteps, the size of mortars. The Gamarala asked all the villagers to kindly tie their mortars so that they would not eat his paddy. However, the next day too there were these mortar like footsteps and the paddy had been eaten.
The Gamarala decided to keep watch at night and was amazed to see a huge white elephant descend from the sky and make a good meal of his paddy.
After eating his fill, the elephant rose to the sky and the Gamarala clung to his tail and went to heaven.
When the elephant descended on earth the next day Gamarala too returned by hanging on the elephant’s tail. The Gamarala told his wife, the Gama Mahage that he had seen heaven or the Diviyaloke. She too wanted to see it and so did her mother and some of her mother’s friends.
So, the next night they all waited for the elephant and the Gamarala warned them not to talk.
When the elephant had finished eating the Gamarala clung to the elephant’s tail and the others clung on to him and each other.
As the elephant was rising into the air the Gama Mahage’s mother asked the Gamarala how big the paddy fields in heaven were.
Forgetting that he was hanging on to the elephant’s tail let go and spread his hands to show how big the fields were and they all came tumbling down.
That was the end of their going to heaven.
Source: Folk lre