158. The Bodhisatta And The Crow
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a bird: when he grew up he lived amidst a retinue of birds on an island in the middle of the sea. Some merchants of Kasi started on a voyage by sea. In the midst of the sea the ship was wrecked. The crow reached that island and thought, “Here is a great flock of birds, it is good that I use deceit on them and eat their eggs and young”; so he descended in their midst and opening his mouth stood with one foot on the ground. “Who are you, master?” they asked. “I am a holy person.” “Why do you stand on one foot?” “If I put down the other one, the earth could not bear me.”
157. The Bodhisatta And The Crocodile
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life again as a monkey. He was full-grown and enormously strong. He lived alone on the banks of a river. In the middle of the river was an island where all fruit-trees like mangoe and bread-fruit grew. And in mid-stream, half way between the island and the river bank, a solitary rock rose out of the water. The Bodhisatta used to leap from the bank on to this rock and then on to the island. He would eat the fruits that grew on the island, and return at evening by the way he came. And such was his life from day to day.
156. The Bodhisatta And The Cripple
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was one of the king’s courtiers. And the royal chaplain of those days was so talkative that, when he once started, no one else could get a word in. So the King cast about for someone to cut the chaplain short, and looked high and low for such an one.
Now at that time there was a cripple in Benares who was a wonderful marksman with stones. The boys used to put him on a little cart and draw him to the gates of Benares, where there is a large banyan tree covered with leaves.
155. The Bodhisatta And The Cock
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a Brahmin family. And when he grew up, learned all knowledge and became a teacher of world wide fame with five hundred young Brahmins studying under him.
Now these young Brahmins had a cock who crowed early in the morning so that the brahmins could wake up and study. And this cock died. So they looked all out for another cock. When picking up firewood in the cemetery grove, they saw a cock. They brought it home and kept in a coop.
But, as this second cock had been bred in a cemetery, he had no knowledge of either morning or evening, and used to crow casually whenever possible. Roused by his crowing at midnight, the young Brahmins fell to their studies; by dawn they were tired out and could not pay attention on the subject; and when he was crowing in broad day, they did not get a chance for repeating their lesson. And as it was the cock’s crowing both at midnight and by day which had brought their studies to a standstill, they took the bird and wrung his neck. Then they told their teacher that they had killed the cock that crowed in and out of season.
Teacher said, for their edification, “It was his bad bringing up that brought this cock to his end.”
Such was the Bodhisatta’s teaching on the matter; and when he had lived his allotted time on earth, he passed away to fare according to his deserts.
