Monthly Archives: October 2013
78. THE LION, THE JACKAL AND THE CAVE
In a certain part of the jungle, there lived a lion, by the name of Kharanakhara. One day, he felt very hungry and wandered everywhere looking for food, but he could not catch a single animal.
At sunset, he went into a big cave, thinking to himself,’Some animal is bound to be living here and will certainly return during the evening. I shall hide in the cave and wait for him.’
Sure enough, after a short time, a jackal, arrived on the scene. He noticed that a lion’s footprints were leading into the cave but not coming out. He thought to himself, ‘Now I am dead! It is almost certain that there is a lion inside. But how can I know for sure? What can I do to find out?’ Suddenly an idea struck him.
He stood at the entrance of the cave and began to shout,’Hello, Cave! Cave.’ He waited in silence for some time. Then he cried, ‘Ho, Cave! Don’t you remember the agreement we came to, that when I arrive here, I shall first call you and you will reply and only then will I come in. Now, as you are not replying, I shall go to some other cave.’
When the lion heard this, he thought to himself,’The cave really replies to the jackal, when he returns, but today, for fear of me, it is keeping quiet. So, I shall invite him in myself and when he enters, I’ll make a meal of him.’
With this idea in mind, the lion replied to the jackal, ‘Hello, jackal! It’s all right, you can come in.’
The cave echoed with his roar so loud that even animals far away were frightened. The jackal bolted.
❖ Use you tactics to protect yourself from destruction.
❖ Presence of mind is the best weapon to guard oneself in every sphere of life.
77. THE LION, THE FOX, THE CROW AND THE CAMEL
There in a deep jungle, lived a lion by the name of Madotkata. He had three selfish friends-a jackal, a crow and a wolf. They had become friendly with the lion, because he was the king of the forest. They were always at the service of the lion and obeyed him to meet their selfish ends.
Once, a camel got disorientated in the jungle while grazing and went astray. He tried hard to find his way out, but could not succeed.
76. THE LION AND THE WOODCUTTER
There lived a lion in a dense forest. He had two good friends, a crow and a jackal. The lion hunted the whole day for his prey. And after assuaging his hunger, he gave the remaining food to his friends. The jackal and the crow were very happy to eat free food. They ate their fill and lazed around since they did not have to exert themselves to earn their food.
In the same village, there lived a woodcutter and his wife. Both husband and wife went to the forest to collect wood and returned home after hours of hard work. When they returned, the woodcutter’s wife cooked meals and they both ate sitting in front of their house.
75. THE LAPWINGS AND THE SEA
Once upon a time, there lived a lapwing and his wife on a sea-shore. When it was time for the lapwing’s wife to lay eggs, she said to her husband. “I don’t want to lay eggs here on the sea shore. The sea might eat up my eggs. Let us go to some pond or lake.”
“Don’t be foolish”, said the lapwing. “Even our ancestors laid eggs here. Let the sea eat our eggs. I’ll teach him a lesson, if he tries to do so .
