41. THE ELEPHANT AND THE SPARROW
Somewhere in the jungle, a pair of sparrows had made their nest in a huge tree. In due course the female sparrow laid her eggs there.
One day because of the tremendous heat, an agitated elephant came and stood under the shade of the tree. With his trunk, he caught hold of the branches supporting the sparrow’s nest and pulled them down. The nest fell to the ground and the eggs were smashed. Luckily the sparrows managed to escape but, because she had lost her eggs, the female sparrow was heartbroken and began to cry loudly.
A woodpecker listening to her sobs felt touched. He went over to her and said, “My good sparrow, what’s the point of crying, for what is to happen, will surely happen?”
“That’s true”, said the female sparrow, “but this wicked elephant has killed my children. If you are my friend, please find some way of destroying him, so that I can forget the loss of my eggs.”
“I will.’said the woodpecker, “Now I too have a friend, a fly. Lets go and ask her to help us, destroy this cruel elephant.” And so, the woodpecker went with the female sparrow to the fly and said to her, “My friend, this sparrow is a dear friend of mine. A wicked elephant has destroyed her eggs. Please help us find a way to kill him.”
“Certainly I’ll help you, my good friend”, replied the fly, “otherwise, what is a friend for? Now I too have a friend a frog Lets go and ask him to help us destroy this cruel elephant.” And so they all went together to the frog and told him what had happened.
Then the frog said, ” What can this elephant do against us, if we work together? Listen, I have a plan. Fly! When the sun is at the highest point, you go and buzz in his ears, so that in sheer ecstasy, he closes his eyes.
Then, woodpecker! You peck his eyes, and blind him. Then I will sit at the edge of the pit that’s nearby and croak. When the elephant is thirsty, hearing me croak, he will come to the pit, thinking it is a lake of water. He will fall right in and, being unable to get out again, he’ll die. Now, if we follow this plan, we’ll have our revenge.”
The others agreed and they carried out the plan successfully. The elephant groped his way to the muddy pit, fell in and died.
❖ Even the low and humble achieve results when they work together.
40. THE ELEPHANT AND THE MICE
Once upon a time there lived a group of mice under a tree peacefully. But once a group of elephants came that way and destroyed the homes of all the rats as a result of which many of them were crushed to death. Then the king of rats decided to approach the elephant chief and request him to guide his herd through another route. The elephant king agreed to this and took another route to the water. And so the lives of the rats were saved.
One day a group of elephant-hunters came and trapped the group of elephants in huge nets. Then the elephant king suddenly remembered the king of the rats. He summoned one of the elephants of his herd which had not been trapped, to go and contact the king of rats. On listening to the elephant, the rat king took his entire group of mice and they cut open the nets which trapped the elephant herd. So the elephant herd was totally set free.
❖ A friend in need is a friend indeed.
❖ Sometimes a weak looking person may prove stronger than others.
39. THE DOVE AND THE HUNTER
A wicked bird hunter, with the appearance of Yama, the God of death, used to roam about in the jungle. He had neither friends nor relatives. He was deserted by everyone because of his cruel deeds. One day, while the hunter was wandering about in the jungle, he caught a female dove and threw her into a cage. It was now evening. Suddenly a storm accompanied by heavy rain broke loose, so ferociously that it seemed as if the end of the world was at hand.
38. THE DONKEY IN THE LION’S SKIN
There was a washerman. His name was Shuddhapata. He had a donkey. The donkey had an insatiable appetite for food, but was least interested in doing his master’s work. And Shuddhapata was very poor. It was not possible for him to feed his always-hungry and lazy donkey. Therefore, as a result the donkey became lean and thin.
Once the washerman had to go to the town to purchase soap etc. for washing clothes. He had to pass through a jungle on his way to the town. While returning from the town, he found a lion’s skin in the jungle. He immediately thought of a plan to feed his lazy donkey.
When the night fell, he donned his donkey with the lion’s skin and drove him to the nearby fields. The farmers were frightened to see a lion roaming in their fields and ran away. The donkey ate his fill and returned home in the early hours of morning. This continued for months together. Soon the donkey became fat and healthy. No farmer ever dared come near him. The donkey passed his days and nights happily.
One night, as the donkey was feeding itself in a neighbouring field, it heard another donkey braying in a nearby village. The donkey became very happy to hear it and instinctively started braying in reply, “Dheechoon, Dheechoon”. Soon the farmers realised that the animal they were frightened of was not a lion but a donkey. They became very angry. They came out of their houses with lathis in their hands and beat the donkey so badly that it died on the spot.
❖ You cannot fool all the people all the time
❖ He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.
❖ Do not pretend to be what you are not.
