Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a bird. Growing up, He became king of the birds and came to the Himalayas with thousands of birds in his train. During their stay in that place, a fierce bird used to go in quest of food along a highway where she found rice, beans, and other grain dropped by passing wagons. In order to keep the others from coming there, she told them as follows:- “The highway is full of peril. In it elephants and horses, wagons drawn by fierce oxen, and such like dangerous things go regularly. By the wink of the eye, one should fly away. As you could not, don’t go there at all.” And because of her warning the other birds didn’t go that way.

Now one day, when she was feeding along the highway, she heard the sound of a carriage coming swiftly along the road, and turned her head to look at it. “Oh it’s quite a long way off,” thought she and went on as before. Up swift as the wind came the carriage, and before she could rise, the wheel had crushed her and whirled on its way. At the muster, the King marked her absence and ordered to search her. And at last she was found cut in two on the highway and the news was brought to the king. He said, “Through not following her own caution to the other birds she has been cut in two.”