PT3-02-DonkeyDiesSportingTigerSkin
Panchatantra Stories  
பஞ்சதந்திரம் pañca-tantiram , n. pañcan +. The Tamil version of Pañca-tantra consisting of five books, viz., mittira-pētam, cukirl- lāpam, canti-vikkirakam, artta-nācam, acampirēṭciya-kārittuvam; மித்திரபேதம், சுகிர்ல்லாபம், சந்திவிக்கிரகம், அர்த்தநாசம், அசம்பிரேட்சியகாரித்து வம் என ஐம்பகுதியுடையதாய்த் தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்க் கப்பட்ட நூல்.
1. மித்திரபேதம் = mittira-pētam = Sowing discord among friends.
2. சுகிர்ல்லாபம் = cukir-l-lāpam = the acquisition of friends.
3. சந்திவிக்கிரகம் canti-vikkirakam  = Associating with a foe with a view to ruin him.
4. அர்த்தநாசம் artta-nācam  = Loss of wealth.
5. அசம்பிரேட்சியகாரித்துவம் a-campirēṭciya-kārittuvam , n. a-sam-prēkṣya-kāri-tva. Action without forethought.
Inspiration: N.Natchiyappan
 1. A washerman with his donkey lived in a town. He used the donkey to carry the dirty laundry to the lake and clean laundry back to the town.

2. He never fed the donkey. He devised a plan to fill the donkey’s belly. He put a shroud of tiger skin on it in the night and let it graze in the nearby fields. The donkey grew big and fat grazing the cultivated fields.

3. In the night, the watchmen mistook the donkey for a tiger and ran away in fear. The donkey grazed well, and this went on for many days.

4. There is a proverb in Tamil: Will the tiger eat grass when hungry? But we see now the tiger eating rice paddy. The people thought it was the happening of a modern era. One ruffian wanted to test the prevailing view, put on a thick blanket, and hid in a place.

5. The ruffian with the blanket was at the ready at the right time in the night. The donkey mistook the person with the banket as a female donkey and brayed. Once he heard the sound, the ruffian plunged his spear into the donkey.

6. The donkey rolled over and died.

7. We must have control over our mouth (speech). If we do not have control, we will ruin ourselves.