Once upon a time, there lived a dhobi in a village. He had a donkey and a dog as his pets. The dog guarded his master’s house and accompanied him wherever he went. The donkey used to carry the load of clothes. The dhobi loved his dog very much. And the dog, whenever, he saw his master, would bark a little and wag his tail. He would raise his front legs and put them on the chest of his master. And the dhobi would pat his dog in return, for his loving gesture.

This made the donkey jealous of the dog’s fate. He cursed his iII-fate; ‘What a bad luck I’ve. My master doesn’t love me in spite of my putting in hard labour. Now, I must do what this dog does to please my master.’

So, the next time, when he saw his master coming, he ran towards him. He brayed a little and tried to wag his tail. He raised his front legs and put them on his master’s body.

The dhobi got frightened to see his donkey’s abnormal behaviour. He thought that the donkey might have gone crazy. So he picked up a lathi and beat up the donkey till it fell on the ground.

❖ Jealousy is harmful.