As related by a partridge:

“One upon a time, I was living in a certain tree. In the hollow, at the foot of the tree, lived a partridge, by the name Kapinjala. In the course of time, we became good friends. Every day, at sunset, we would return home and tell each other stories about the holy men and such things, and talk over together about what had happened during the day. In this way, we passed our time very nicely.

One day, the partridge went off, with some other partridges, to another part of the country, which was full of ripe rice. When he did not return at nightfall, I became very worried and thought to myself, “Oh dear, why hasn’t the partridge returned home today? Has he been caught in a trap or has somebody killed him? I am sure he would have returned if he was safe, for he can’t live without me.”

“And so, I spent several days worrying.

One day, at nightfall, a hare came and took over the hole in the tree. As I had given up all hope of ever seeing the partridge again, I did not object in any way to his occupying the place.

“Meanwhile, the partridge, who had become fat from eating the ripe rice, suddenly remembered his former home and came back.

When he found the hare living in his house, he objected very strongly and said to him, “Hare! You have taken over my home! That’s very unfair of you! Leave immediately!”

“Oh, but this place is mine now”, said the hare.

Patridge said,”Hare! Let us approach someone who is well versed in holy books and we’ll let him decide who is to have the place”.

The hare agreed to this suggestion and they set off together to have their dispute settled by a holy man. Now a wild tomcat, came to know about their dispute. He went and stood in their path, on the bank of the river. In his paw he held a blade of holy Kusha grass. He closed his eyes, stood on his hind legs, facing the sun and began giving a discourse on morals.

“Why make a long story of it? I’ll tell you what religion is, in nutshell. To do good to others is virtuous but harming others is a sin”.

When the hare heard this, he said,” This fellow, sitting on the bank of the river, is a holy man and an exponent of religion. Let us go and ask his opinion”.

“All right”, said the patridge “but he is a wild tomcat and our natural enemy, so we should talk to him from a very long way off”.
And so, standing at a distance, they both said to him, “Holy man ! There is a dispute between us. Give us your opinion, in accordance with the holy books and whichever of us is in the wrong, you can eat up”.

“My friends”, said the tomcat, “please don’t talk like that! I have given up that violent way of life, which leads directly to hell.
The sages have declared non-violence to be essence of a true religion. It’s wrong to kill even lice, bugs and mosquitoes, so I shall certainly not kill you. However, I will decide who wins and who loses in the dispute. But I am old and I can’t hear what it’s all about from so far away. So come nearer and present your case, so that I can decide in such way, that I am not held blameworthy in the next world. So have confidence in me and speak the facts clearly in my ears. What more is there for me to say?”

And so, this wicked tomcat inspired so much confidence in the partridge and the hare, that they came and sat close to him.

Immediately, he seized one of them in his teeth and the other in his claws, killed them both and ate them up.

❖ Beware of a rascal who pretends to be holy.

❖ When two people fight, the third mediator has the advantage.

❖ Tussle over triffle matters may sometimes lead to a certain disaster.