Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a jackal. He lived in a charnel grove. He was a king to the following jackals.

And at that time there was a festival held at Rajagaha, and everybody celebrated it by drinking and dancing.

Now a group of rogues joined them; drank the drinks and ate the meat they brought. Suddenly, they had lots of drinks and they got no meat to eat. One man said, “I will go to the charnel grove, kill a jackal and bring the meat. So saying he snatched up a club and went to charnel grove, where he lay down, club in hand, feigning to be dead. Just then, follwed by the other jackals, the Bodhisatta came up and saw the pretended corpse. Suspecting the fraud, he determined to deal the matter carefully. The Bodhisatta went near him and took hold of the club with his teeth and tugged at it. Then he took a tighter grip. Then, the Bodhisatta stepped back a pace or two and said, “My good man! if you had been dead, you would not have tightened your grip on your club when I was tugging at it, and so have betrayed yourself.”

Finding that he was discovered, the rogue sprang to his feet and flung his club at the Bodhisatta but missed his aim. He said, “Go away, you brute! I’ve missed you this time.” Turning round, the Bodhisatta said, “True you have missed me, but be assured you will not miss the torments of the Great Hell and the sixteen Lesser Hells.”

Empty handed, the rogue left the cemetery.