161. The Bodhisatta And The Dog
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a rich family of the kingdom of Kasi; and when he grew up, he set up a house of his own. There was a man in Benares who had a dog which had been fed on rice till it grew fat. And a villager who had come to Benares saw the dog; and purchased the dog for a fine garment and a piece of money and dragged the dog by a strap to his hut and tied up the dog, and went to sleep. At that moment the Bodhisatta came that way saw this. He asked the dog, “Foolish Dog! Why don’t you bite; cut the strap by biting it, you can be free.”
On hearing this stanza, the Dog said, “I am waiting for the opportunity; let all the people sleep.”
When all the people were asleep, he gnawed through the strap, and returned to his master’s house in great glee.
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