Long, long ago, there lived two fish and a frog in a pond. The names of the two fish were Shatabuddhi and Sahasrabuddhi. The name of the frog was Ekabuddhi.

One day, when the three friends were talking to each other on the edge of the pond, some fishermen passed by. They were carrying baskets and nets with them. They saw the pond and said to one another, “This pond seems to be full of fish. Let’s come tomorrow and catch them.”

When the fishermen left the place, the frog said to the fish, “Friends, you also heard what the fishermen said. Let’s leave this pond immediately and go to some other pond to save our lives.”

But the two fish laughed. Sahasrabuddhi said, “Well, as far as I think the fishermen will never come back to catch us. But even if they do, they’ll never be able to trap us, because we’re expert swimmers and we know how to save ourselves.”

But the frog was not convinced with the views of the fish. He said, “But I find myself not so expert in swimming. I’ll definitely leave this pond along with my family by this evening, to settle down in some other pond or well.”

The same evening, the frog abandoned the pond along with his family and went to a nearby pond. The next day, the fishermen came to the pond. They cast their nets and caught all the fishes. The two fish tried to escape, but in vain. They also got trapped in the net and died.

When the frog and his wife saw the fishermen returning with a lot of fish in their net, they became very sad. They looked at the net with tearful eyes as they saw that their two friends, Shatabuddhi and Sahasrabuddhi also had succumbed to death.

❖ One should not turn a deaf ear to a friend’s advice.

❖ At the first hint of danger, act quickly to save yourself.

❖ Where neither the wind nor the sun’s rays have found a way, intelligent understanding will quickly make a path.

❖ Everything on earth is subject to the understanding of those with intelligence.