Once upon a time, the Brahmadatta was king of Benares, and a good king he was. One day he entered his park, and came to the side of a lake. And those girls of harem began to dance and sing. The fish and tortoises, eager to hear the sound of song, flocked together and went along beside the king. And the king, seeing a mass of fish as long as a palm trunk, asked his courtiers,

“Now why do these fish follow me?”

The courtiers said, “They are coming to offer their services to their lord.”

The king was pleased at this saying, that they were come to serve him, and ordered rice to be given to them regularly. At the time of feeding some of the fish came, and some did not; and rice was wasted. They told the king about it. The king said, “Now onwards, at the time for the giving of rice let a drum be sounded; and at the sound of the drum, when the fish flock together, give the food to them.” From then onwards the feeder caused a drum to sound, and when they flocked together gave rice to the fish. As they were gathered thus, eating the food, came a crocodile and ate some of the fish. The feeder told this to the king. The king listened. He ordered, “When the crocodile is eating the fish, pierce him with a harpoon, and capture him.”

“Good,” the man said. And he went on a boat, and as soon as the crocodile came to eat the fish, he pierced him with a harpoon. It went into his back. Mad with pain, the crocodile went off with the harpoon. Perceiving that he was wounded, the feeder spoke, “Just because of the greed, you got the harpoon on your back.”

When the crocodile got to his own place, he died.