1.
A lion in the forest had a fox as his minister and one day had a
stomachache, for which someone advised eating a donkey's liver was
curative. The lion asked the fox to bring home the liver.
2.
The fox had to leave the forest to find a donkey. Adjoining a stream,
the fox saw a washerman with a donkey in tow. When he reached the
stream, he unloaded the dirty laundry bag from its back, tied its hind
legs at the ankle, and let it go for grazing. When the donkey was some
distance away from him, the fox spoke to the donkey.
3.
The fox: "Ayyō! Holy mercy! Why is your body so emaciated?"
4.
The donkey: "What am I to do? When the washerman gets angry, he whips
me. He never feeds me well. He not only rides on my back but also
burdens me heavily with a huge laundry bag. When I do not carry the
bags, he ties up one hind leg to the opposite foreleg. It is no wonder I
appear emaciated.
5.
Fox: "To hear your story evokes pity. To be free from this joyless
life, I have a suggestion. Go with me to the king of the forest, the
lion, who will make you a minister. With such a powerful job, you will
live well. "
6.
The donkey: "A lion! No way. It kills other animals and eats them. I
am afraid."
7.
The fox: "Your worry is unfounded. Are we not in his employ? Did the
lion kill us all? The king does not look at any animal other than a male
elephant. I will take responsibility for your well-being and safety.
What do you say?"
8.
The donkey: "If that is so, I will go."
9.
Immediately, the fox bit the leg ties with its teeth and set him free.
The fox took the donkey into the forest without the knowledge of the
washerman.
10.
As soon as the donkey came into the sight of the lion, the latter
charged towards the donkey. The donkey took off, braying loudly. The
lion could not catch up with the donkey because its stomachache slowed
it down.
11.
The fox: "Dear king! Where is the rush? Let me go and get the donkey
back. When you find the donkey in your grasp, kill and eat it." The fox
ran after the donkey.
12.
The fox came close to the donkey and said, "Why did you run away like
that?" The donkey said, "Go away. I trusted you. That lion came charging
to kill me, even before I came close to him. I escaped and ran. Why are
you here again?"
13.
The fox: Ayiyō! Sin, sin! Say nothing sinful about the lion king. So
far, he kept the spoken word. Do not speak ill of him. Have you lost
your Buddhi, speaking ill of this world-famous upright and praiseworthy
lion?
14.
The fox: "This is no hoax. What sins could you have done in your last
birth? Now you took birth as a donkey, suffered so much carrying dirty
clothes, and received beatings from the washerman. For you to expunge
your sins, I did a good deed. You failed to understand that and ran away
in fear from the lion, who, in his joy, ran to embrace you. Would
anybody reject a fortune? Should your fate lead you astray? Let us go.
Listen to me. Good things will happen to you.
15.
The donkey trusted the fox entirely and followed the fox, which
brought the donkey before the lion.
16.
As soon the lion saw the donkey, it jumped at the donkey, embraced it,
and broke its neck.
17.
The lion: "I leave to perform Sandhyavanthanam to atone killing the
donkey. Once I come back, I eat its liver as remediation for my stomach
pain. Until then, keep a watch on the donkey's corpse."
18.
The fox kept a watch, and the lion went to a water body to perform
Sandhyavanthanam. As the lion performed the ritual, the fox ate the ears
and the eyes of the dead donkey.
19.
The returning lion asked the fox, "Where are the ears and eyes of the
donkey?"
20.
The fox: "If the fox had its eyes and ears (brains), would the escaped
donkey come back to die?
21.
The lion does not eat a defective animal. Therefore, the lion did not
eat the liver and left the donkey's body as it saw it. The fox dragged
the body and shared it with its compatriots.
22.
What are we to say about those who make the same mistake again, having
experienced it the first time?
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