02PanchatantraStories01-10 |
1. The Donkey with no
Brain The lion, the king of the forest, was growing old. It had become difficult for him to hunt for food. So. he called the fox and said, “I appoint you as minister, you must advise me on all the affairs of the forest, and also bring me an animal to eat every day.” The fox went out to hunt for the lion’s food. On the way, he met a donkey and said to him, “You are very lucky. Our king, the lion has chosen you to be his chief minister.” “1 am afraid of the lion. He might kill and eat me up. And I really don’t think I am fit to be a minister!” the donkey replied. The clever fox laughed and said, “Oh! You don't know the great qualities you have! Our king is dying to meet you. He has chosen you because you are hard-working and gentle. Now, come with me and meet our great king. He will be really happy to see you." The donkey believed him and agreed to go along with the fox. As soon as they entered the cave, the lion pounced on the donkey and killed him. The lion thanked the fox and was happy to get his food. As the lion sat down to eat his meal, the fox said, “Your Majesty, I know you are very hungry and it is time for your dinner, but the king of the jungle must take a bath before his meal.” The lion thought it was a good idea and said, “You are right. I should go and bathe first. You keep an eye on my dinner.” The fox sat down silently to guard the lion’s meal. He was very hungry and thought, “I took all the trouble of getting the donkey here. It is 1 who deserve the best portion of the meal." Thus, the fox cut open the donkey’s head and ate up the brain. When the lion returned and looked at the donkey, he felt that something was missing. He found that the head of the ass had been cut open. He inquired from the fox, “Who came here? What happened to the donkey’s head?” The fox pretended to be innocent. He said, “Your Majesty, you had given the poor donkey a powerful blow on the head when you killed him." The lion was satisfied with the answer and sat down to eat his meal. But suddenly, he shouted, “What happened to the donkey’s brain? I wanted to eat the brain first!” The clever fox smilingly replied, “Your Majesty, donkeys do not have brains. If this one had any, he would not have come here to become your meal!” |
2. The Scholars and
the Lion In a small town, there once lived four scholars who were also great friends. Three of the scholars were very well- read and clever. But the fourth one, while lacking in bookish knowledge, was rich in common sense. One of the scholars remarked to the others, “If we go to the courts of great kings, our wisdom will earn us fame and fortune.” The others immediately agreed and they set out on the journey. On the way, they came across the skin and bones of a dead lion. The first scholar said excitedly, “Let's test the power of our knowledge. Let’s try and bring this dead lion back to life! I can put together its skeleton perfectly.” “I can fill the skeleton with flesh and blood," boasted the second scholar. “I can give life to its body so that it becomes a living creature again,” said the third scholar. The fourth scholar said nothing about what he could do. He shook his head resignedly and said, “Very well, you can please yourselves and do as you wish, but please wait till I climb up a tree. All of you are great scholars. I trust your wisdom and knowledge. You have the power to bring a dead beast to life and soon this lion will roar and be alive. However, 1 am not sure, if you have the power to change the nature of a beast. A lion never eats grass, as a lamb will never eat flesh.” His friends laughed at him. One of them said, “You seem to be scared for your life. Shame on you! You have no idea, we enjoy complete control and command over the creatures we create. Why should the beast threaten us when we'll be the ones to bring it to life? Anyway, you are free to hide anywhere and watch us while we perform this miracle!" The fourth scholar quickly ran towards a tree and climbed it, while the other scholars laughed at him. So, the three scholars got down to work. When the third scholar had breathed life into the lion, the great beast stirred and came to life. And with a mighty roar, it leapt upon the three scholars and gobbled them in minutes. The fourth scholar watched helplessly form the tree. His common sense had saved his life. |
3. The Greedy Dog One day, while roaming around, a dog found a piece of bone. Finding no one there to claim the bone, he quickly picked it up and ran away. He then looked for a calm and quiet place to chew the bone. He came across a river with a wooden bridge, and began crossing it. While crossing the bridge, he happened to look into the river and saw his own image reflected in the water. The foolish dog mistook his reflection for another dog with a piece of bone in his mouth. He became greedy and wanted to snatch the other dog’s bone as well. In order to challenge the other dog, he barked at the reflection. But as soon as he opened his mouth to bark, the bone in his mouth fell into the river. Thus, trying to snatch away what didn’t belong to him, the greedy dog had lost what he already had. |
4 The magic Hen One day, a poor man came up to a farmer and bought a sack of rice in exchange for a hen. The farmer’s wife was angry when she heard that her husband had parted with a whole sack of rice for an ordinary hen. But the next morning, the farmer's wife found a golden egg at the place where the hen had roosted during the night. The magic hen laid one golden egg every day. This went on for several weeks. Soon the farmer became the richest man in the village. But the farmer’s wife was a greedy woman. One day, when the farmer was not at home, she brought a big knife, and cut the hen’s belly in the hope of getting all the golden eggs at once. To her dismay, she found that there was not even a single egg inside the hen! And there never would be any more golden eggs because the greedy woman had killed the magic hen. |
5. The Vain Stag Once, there was a vain stag. The stag often went to a pond to see his reflection and admire himself and said, "What handsome antlers I have. But I wish I had beautiful legs too.” One day, a lion saw the stag. The stag ran into the thick forest to escape the lion, but his antlers got caught among the thick bush in the forest. He thought that his end was near, and cursed his antler. But, with the help of his strong legs, he was able to free himself from the branches. And just before the lion could catch him, the stag darted away on his strong legs. The stag then thanked his ugly legs that had saved his life. Since then, the stag never thought that his legs were ugly. |
6. A Bird in Hand There lived a fierce lion in a forest. One day, the lion spotted a small rabbit playing under a tree nearby. The lion following him, waiting for a chance to pounce on the poor little rabbit. When the rabbit saw the lion, he ran for his life. But the lion sprang on him and the little rabbit got caught between his powerful paws. Before the lion could gobble up the rabbit, a deer came into the lion’s view. The greedy lion let the rabbit go and ran after the deer. The deer leapt away speedily as the lion chased him and soon disappeared into the forest. The lion lost the rabbit and failed to hunt down the deer. He cursed himself for letting the rabbit go away. It is, therefore, rightly said that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. |
7 The Swans and the
Foolish Turtle Once upon a time, a turtle and two swans were good friends. One year, there was no rain and the pond they used to drink water from, dried up. The turtle made a plan. He told the swans, "Please look for a stick. I will hang on to it with my teeth and both of you hold the two sides of the stick and fly with me to another pond." The swans agreed but warned the turtle, "You have to keep your mouth shut or you will crash.” The turtle agreed. When everything was ready, the swans flew off with the turtle. On the way, people who saw this amazing sight, exclaimed, "Look, how clever the swans are. They are carrying a turtle." The turtle wanted to tell them that it had been his idea. Forgetting everything, he opened his mouth to speak and fell. If only the turtle had ignored what people were saying, he would be living safely in the new pond. |
8 The Deer Who Played
Truant One day, a doe brought her son to a wise deer and told him, "O learned brother, please teach my son the tricks to save himself from danger." The wise deer agreed to teach him. This little deer was very naughty and was interested only in playing with the other deer. Soon, he began missing classes and learnt nothing. One day, while playing, he stepped on a snare, got trapped, and was killed. When his mother heard the news, she broke down. The teacher went up to her and said, "Dear sister, I feel sorry for what has happened to him. I tried my best to teach him self-defense. A teacher can’t do anything if the student is not willing to learn." |
9. A Precious life The Bodhisattva was once born as a deer. Every animal in the forest admired his beauty. One day, a prince came to hunt in the forest. "This forest is a good hunting ground," remarked the prince. The prince’s eyes fell on the deer, and he followed it. He was riding on a horse and started riding fast to catch the deer, but the deer was faster. Suddenly, the prince’s horse fell, and the prince was thrown into the nearby river. Now this prince didn’t know how to swim, so the prince shouted for help. The deer heard his cries and helped him out of the water. Seeing that he was saved by the very deer he had wanted to hunt and kill, the prince felt ashamed and vowed never to hunt animals again. |
10. The Greedy monkey Once, a monkey had the nasty habit of sneaking into people’s houses and stealing food. The villagers were fed up with the monkey. One day, they asked a juggler to trap the monkey. The juggler put peanuts in many earthen jars with narrow necks and placed them on the rooftops of the houses. The next day, the juggler saw the monkey with his hand stuck inside one of the jars. The villagers were finally rid of the naughty monkey. When the villagers asked the juggler how he had caught the monkey. The juggler said that he knew that the monkey loved peanuts and would put his hand into the jar to grab them with his fist. But the neck of the jar was too narrow for the clenched fist to come out. And he knew that the greedy monkey would not open its fist to pull out his hand. Greed led to the monkey’s doom. |