SHORT SUMMARIES OF PANCHTANTRA TALES (Suggested Readings for the Literary Week 2016)

SHORT SUMMARIES OF PANCHTANTRA TALES

Panchtantra tales

1)             The Monkey and the Crocodile

Once upon a time there was a clever monkey who lived by the river Ganga. A crocodile and his wife lived in the same river. One day, the crocodile’s wife fell very ill. She wanted to eat something special. She asked her husband to get her a monkey’s heart. The crocodile did not know what to do. Then he thought of his neighbour, the monkey. He said, “Friend Monkey, why do you waste your time eating the fruits of this tree? There are juicy fruits on the other side of the river.” When the monkey said that the river was too big for him to cross, the crocodile offered to take him on his back. After a while, the crocodile sank in the water along with the monkey. He told the monkey that his wife was sick and wanted his heart. The monkey realised that he had been foolish to trust the crocodile. He quickly thought of a clever plan to escape. He said, “Alas friend! Our hearts are not inside us. We have to keep them hanging on trees. I wish you had told me earlier. Let’s go back and bring my heart.” The crocodile believed the monkey and brought him back to the tree. The monkey at once climbed up the tree and escaped. He said to the crocodile, “You have a big body but no brains!” The crocodile had nothing to do but repent for his foolishness on being tricked by the monkey.

2)             A LION AND A RABBIT

A lion was getting fed up of hunting. He called all animals and passed an order, "Everyday one of you should come by yourself as my prey". All animals started to obey this order. 

It was the hare's day. The hare was very sad. As he was going to the lion's den, he came across an old well. He looked into it. It was very deep and dangerous. He made a plan to his mind. 

The lion was very angry that no animal had come that day. The hare slowly came towards the lion. The lion roared "Why are you late?" The hare humbly replied, "Oh my way another lion chased me. I got away with much difficulty to give my life to you, Your Majesty". 

The lion was pleased with the hare. But the thought of another lion in the jungle made him angry. The lion roared "Do you know where he lives?" The hare replied "Yes, Sir. Please come with me". 

The hare took the lion to the old well. He said "Sir, that lion lives in this well". The lion peeped into the well. He mistook his reflection for another lion. He roared and there was an echo. He thought that the other lion was roaring too and jumped into the well. That was the end of the lion. 

3)   THE STORK AND THE CRAB

Once upon a time, there lived a stork by the side of a tank. There were plenty of fish in the tank and the stork always had a full meal. As the years passed, the stork grew old and found it difficult to catch fish for food. Sometimes, he would be hungry for days.The stork thought of a plan. He stood by the tank with a sad look on his face. He did not attempt to catch any fish. The fish, frogs and crabs in the tank noticed and asked him what the matter was.

“I have heard that some humans will soon fill this tank and grow crops over it.” There will not be any fish left alive. This makes me sad”, replied the stork. The fish were very worried and asked the stork to help them.

The stork offered to take all of them to a bigger tank some distance away. But since he was old, he would need to rest between trips and would be able to carry only a few fish at a time. Saying this he set out on his first trip taking a few fish in his beak. However, he did not go to another tank. Instead he took them to a big rock and ate them there. Each time he was hungry he would take a trip with a few more fishes.

A crab was left in the tank. He also wanted to save himself and requested the stork to take him also. The stork felt he could try a different meal for a change. He agreed to take the crab.

The stork flew up with him. After a while, the crab looked down to see the tank where he was going to, but all he could see was dry land.

“Uncle, where is the big tank you are taking me to?” he asked.

The stork laughed and pointed to a rock below. There were heaps of fish-bones on the rock. The crab realized that he was going to be the stork’s next meal. He thought quickly of a way to save himself. The crab dug his sharp claws into the stork’s neck and did not let go till the stork fell down dead. He then cut off the stork’s head and dragged it to the tank he lived in. There he told everyone how the stork had been cheating everyone and how he had killed him.

4)      THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE

Once there was a tortoise and two geese that lived in a tank. All three of them were great friends and lived happily for many years.

Then a drought struck the land. All the rivers and tanks started drying up. People and animals were dying. The geese decided to leave the country and fly away to some other place. When they met the tortoise to bid farewell to him, the tortoise begged them not to leave him alone. But the tortoise could not fly.

So they thought of a plan. They got a stick. The geese held the ends of the stick with their beaks. The tortoise would hold the middle of the stick. The only condition was that the tortoise should not speak or it would fall from the stick to instant death. The tortoise agreed to be silent.

The geese flew up, carrying the tortoise with them. They flew over hills and fields and a city. As they flew over the city, people clapped their hands and shouted, “Look! How wonderful!”

The tortoise did not like the pointing and staring, and unable to control himself, burst out, “What are these fools laughing at?”

As he spoke these words, he lost hold of the stick and fell from the great height to the ground and was killed.

5)             THE MICE THAT ATE IRON

Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant called Naduk. But times were bad and his business was suffering. He decided to leave the city and find his fortune in a new place. He sold off all his possessions and paid off his debts. All that he had left was a heavy iron beam. Naduk went to say goodbye to his friend Lakshman, and requested him to keep the beam for him till he returned. Lakshman promised to look after it for him. 

For many years, Naduk traveled far and wide, building his fortune. Luck was with him, for he became rich once again. He returned home and bought a new house and started his business again. He went to visit his friend Lakshman who greeted him warmly. After a while, Naduk asked him to return his beam. Lakshman knew that the beam would fetch him good money so he was loath to return it. So he told Naduk that he had kept his beam in the store-room and the mice ate it. 

Naduk did not seem to mind. He asked Lakshman to send his son home with him so that he could hand over a gift that he had bought for him. So Lakshman sent his son Ramu with Naduk.

Naduk locked up Ramu in a cellar in his house. By nightfall, Lakshamn was worried and came to ask about the whereabouts of his son. Naduk replied that on the way to his house, a hawk swooped down and carried the boy off. Lakshman accused Naduk of lying. He insisted that a hawk could not carry off a fifteen-year-old boy.

A big fight ensued and the matter was taken to court. When the magistrate heard Lakshman's side of the story, he ordered Naduk to return the boy to his father. But Naduk insisted that a hawk carried off the boy. The magistrate asked him how it was possible. He replied,that if a huge iron beam can be eaten by mice, then a boy could definitely be carried off by a hawk.  

Naduk related the whole story. Everyone in the courtroom burst out laughing. The magistrate then ordered Lakshman to return the iron beam to Naduk and that Naduk return Lakshman's son to him.

6)             Union is Strength

Once, an old man was very ill and lay dying in his bed. He had four sons who were al­ways fighting with each other. He always worried about them and wanted to teach them a lesson and asked his sons to come to him. When they came, the old man gave them a bundle of sticks and said, “Can you break these sticks?”

The first son tried to break the bundle but nothing hap­pened. He tried very hard and finally gave up. Then it was the turn of the second son to try his luck. He thought it would be an easy task and picked up the sticks easily. He tried his best to break the sticks but nothing happened. Then, the third son tried to break the bundle of sticks, but he couldn’t do anything either.

Meanwhile, the youngest son jeered at his brothers and thought they were very incom­petent. He thought he was very clever and took one stick at a time and easily broke all of them.

The old father then smiled at his sons and said, “Children, do you understand what hap­pened? It is always easy to break the sticks one by one. But when they are bundled to‑ gether, none of you could break them. In the same way,  you four brothers should always be together. No one will be able to hurt you then.” The four brothers realised what their father was trying to teach them and forgot all their enmity and learnt that unity is strength.

From that day onwards, they never fought with each other and lived together in peace and harmony.

7)             The Brahmin’s Dream

Here is another interesting story from the Panchatantra collection. Once upon a time, there lived a poor Brahmin by the name of Swabhavakripna in a village. Swabhavakripna was all alone and had no friends or relatives. He was known for his miserliness and used to beg for his living. Whatever food he got as alms, he kept in an earthen pot and hung it beside his bed. Whenever he felt hungry, he took out some food from the pot and ate it.

One day, the Brahmin got a quantity of rice gruel, so much that even after eating to his full, a pot full was left. Brahmin was very happy to get such quantity of food. As the night progressed, the Brahmin lay on his bed but he could not take his eyes from the pot. Soon, he was fast asleep. He began to dream that the pot is overflowing with rice gruel. 

He dreamt that if a famine came to the land, then he could sell it for a hundred silver coins. With these silver coins, he would buy a pair of goats. They would have kids in every six months and soon he would acquire a herd of goats. Then he would trade the goats for buffaloes and cows. Then they would have their young ones. They would grow up and give lots of milk. He would sell the milk in the market and make lots of butter and curd from it. Then he would sell that butter and curd in the market. Like this, he would become richer than ever before. 

With this money, he would buy a large house with four buildings in a rectangle. A wealthy Brahmin after seeing his affluence would marry his daughter to him. Soon, the wife would deliver a son and he would name him Soma Sharma. The Brahmin would scold Soma, when he would play around all day making noise. But Soma would not listen and anxiously the Brahmin would pick a stick and run after him. 

Buried in his dream, Brahmin picked up the stick lying near his bed. He started hitting in the air with the stick. While doing so, he hit the earthen pot with the stick, the pot broke and all the contents spilled over him. The Brahmin woke up to find that he was dreaming the whole situation. All his dreams got shattered at once.

8)             THE LOYAL MONGOOSE

Once, there lived a farmer and his wife. They had a little son. The farmer had a pet mongoose. The little boy and the mongoose were fond of each other. They were good playmates.

One day the farmer was busy at his fields. The farmer's wife had left to the market. The little boy was fast asleep in a cradle. The mongoose was lying down near the cradle.

A cobra somehow got into the house and it was nearing the little boy. The mongoose sniffed the snake and jumped up. He fought with the cobra. The cobra began to attack. There was a fierce fight between the cobra and the mongoose. The mongoose finally bit and killed the cobra.

The mongoose saw the farmer's wife returning from market. He ran happily towards her to greet her. She saw blood around the mouth and paws of the mongoose. The farmer's wife mistook that the mongoose had attacked her son.

The farmer's wife took a long stick and gave heavy blows on the mongoose and then ran into the house. She was shocked to see a dead cobra lying on the floor near her son. Now she realised her mistake. Her sorrow knew no bounds. 

9)             THE UNGRATEFUL MAN

In a certain place there lived a Brahmin whose name was Jadschnjadatta .His wife, overcome by poverty, every day would say: "Oh, you cowardly, heard-hearted Brahmin. Do you not see how your children are tormented by hunger, while you stand by without caring! Set forth from here and with all your strength seek a way to get some food, then come back as soon as possible."

Exhausted from her complaints, he set forth on a lengthy journey. After a few days he found himself in a great forest. Tormented by hunger he began to look for water when he saw a deep pit covered over with leaves. At the bottom of the pit he saw a tiger, a monkey, snake, and a man; and they saw him as well.

Perceiving that he was a man, the tiger said, "Oh, you honorable one, remember that it is a great virtue to rescue a living being, and pull me out, so that I can return to the circle of my dear friends, my wife, and my family!"

The Brahmin said, "The mere mention of your name brings fear to all living creatures. Should not I too be afraid of you?"

The tiger replied, "Repentance is possible for the murderer of a Brahmin, for drunkards, hooligans, thieves, and promise-breakers, but not for those who are ungrateful. I swear with a three-fold oath that you have no cause to fear me. Therefore have mercy on me and pull me out!"

The Brahmin thought to himself, "Death would bring salvation, if suffered while saving the life of another living being," and he helped the tiger out of the pit.

Then the monkey said to him, "My good man, help me out too!"

Hearing this, the Brahmin pulled him out.

The snake said, "Oh, consecrated one, pull me out too."

The Brahmin replied, "Just saying your name causes one to tremble, much less touching you!"

The snake said, "We do not act arbitrarily. We only bite if we are provoked into doing so. I swear with a three-fold oath that you have no cause to fear me."

After hearing this Brahmin pulled the snake out.

Then they all said to him, "The man down there embraces every kind of sin. Take note of this, and do not help him out. Do not trust him."

Then the tiger spoke up again, "My den is in a crack in the cliff on the north side of the many-peaked mountain that you can see. You must come to me there so I can repay you and not be in your debt in a future life." Having said this he departed for his home.

Then the monkey said, "I live next to a waterfall in the vicinity of the tiger's den. You must visit me there!" And with that he went on his way.

The snake said, "If your life is ever threatened, just think of me!" And he went on his way.

Then the man in the pit cried out repeatedly, "Oh, Brahmin, help me out!"

Overcome by pity, the Brahmin finally pulled him out too.

"I am a goldsmith," said the rescued man, "and if you ever need any gold-work done, just bring it to me." Then he too went on his way.

The Brahmin wandered about without finding anything to eat. Tormented by hunger he turned towards home, but then remembered what the monkey had said and went to him instead.

The monkey gave him fruits as sweet as ambrosia, saying, "Whenever you have need of fruit, just come back to me."

Then the consecrated one said, "You have done well. Now show me the way to the tiger."

The monkey led him to the tiger's den. Recognizing him, the tiger gave the Brahmin a gold necklace along with other ornaments in payment for his good deed.

The tiger explained: "A certain prince, whose horse ran away with him, came under my claws, and I killed him. These things came from him, and I brought them here for you. Take them and go in peace!"

The Brahmin remembered the goldsmith and thought, "He will know who I am, and will help me sell this gold."

The goldsmith received him with every courtesy: foot-washing, refreshment, and so forth, then said, "Just let me know what I can do for you."

The consecrated one said, "I have brought gold that you should sell for me."

The goldsmith said, "Show me the gold!"

The Brahmin showed him the pieces, and the goldsmith recognized them as work that he himself had done for the king's son.

"Just wait here," he said, "while I show the gold to someone."

Then he went to the palace and showed the gold to the king.

"Where did you get this?" asked the king.

"There is a Brahmin in my house who brought it to me."

The king thought, "He is the villain who killed my son. He shall pay for that!"

The king had his watchmen bind the Brahmin, with the order that he was to be impaled at the break of day.

As he was being bound, the Brahmin remembered the snake, and in that same instant the snake appeared before him, and said, "How can I serve you?"

The consecrated one said, "Set me free."

The snake replied, "I shall bite the king's favourite wife. Neither the incantations of the greatest sorcerers nor the medications of the best physicians shall free her from the poison. It will only go away when you touch her with your hand. And then you shall be set free."

After saying this, the snake bit the queen. A cry of despair arose at the palace, and the entire city was in shock. Sorcerer, healers, magicians, and physicians all tried to cure her, but their efforts had no effect on the poison.

Answering the call of the public drummer, the consecrated one said, "I can free her from the poison."

Thus the Brahmin was taken from prison and led to the king, who said, "Free her from the poison!"

The Brahmin went to the queen, and with a mere touch of his hand he freed her from the poison.

Seeing his wife alive and well once again, he approached the Brahmin with honor and respect. "Where did you get the gold?" he asked.

The consecrated one related to him everything that had happened, from the very beginning. Now knowing the truth of the matter, the king had the goldsmith thrown into prison and he appointed the Brahmin as his minister and gave him a thousand villages.

The Brahmin summoned his family and lived happily with his friends, taking pleasure in good works and enjoying the fruits of a virtuous pre-existence.

10)          THE BLUE JACKAL

It is another nice story from the Panchatantra collection. Once, there was a jackal in a forest by the name of Chandaraka. One day, Chandaraka, driven by hunger, went to a nearby village in search of food. He was extremely hungry. Unfortunately, he met a group of dogs and they started chasing him. The jackal got frightened and fled in panic. He entered a washer man’s house in a hurry. While trying to hide himself, the jackal slipped and fell into a tub full of blue color, which the washer man had kept ready to dye the clothes.

Soon the bark of the dogs ceased and jackal came out of the tub. There was a big mirror fixed on the wall of the house. Jackal saw himself in the mirror and was surprised to see his blue colored body. He came out of the house and quickly ran back to the forest. When Chandraraka reached the forest, every animal failed to recognize this new creature. Infact they got frightened and ran in all directions.

Taking advantage of the situation, the jackal planned to keep the situation in his favor. He asked, “Why are you running like this? There is no need to panic. I am a unique creation of God. He told me that the animals in this jungle had no ruler and he had nominated me as your king. He had named me, Kakudruma and told me to rule this forest. Therefore, all of you can live safely under the cover of my protection.” 

The innocent animals believed the shrewd jackal and accepted him as the king. The jackal appointed the lion as his minister, the tiger as his chamberlain and the wolf as the gatekeeper. After allotting positions to the animals, the new king Kakudruma banished all the jackals in the forest for the fear of being recognized. Now, the animals hunt food and brought it to the self-proclaimed king. After taking his share, the king would distribute the remaining food equally among his subjects. So like this, he was leading a luxurious life.

One day when the blue jackal was holding his court, a herd of jackals were passing by howling to their glory. Suddenly blue jackal forgot that he was a king and not an ordinary jackal anymore. Unable to control his natural instinct, Kakudruma howled at the top of his voice. Soon, the animals realized that they had been fooled by a jackal. In a fit of anger, all the animals, at once pounced on the blue jackal and killed him.

11)         THE BRAHMIN AND THE GOAT

Once, there lived a pious Brahmin in a small village, by the name of Mitra Sharma. He used to perform religious rituals. On one occasion, he was rewarded with a goat for his services by a wealthy man. The Brahmin was happy to get a goat as the reward. He happily slung the goat over his shoulder and began the journey towards his home. On the way, three cheats (Thugs) saw the Brahmin taking the goat.

All of them were lazy and wanted to cheat the Brahmin so that they could take away the goat. They said,” This goat will make a delicious meal for all of us. Let's somehow get it”. They discussed the matter amongst themselves and devised a plan to get the goat by befooling the Brahmin. After deciding the plan, they got separated from one another and took different hiding positions at three different places on the way of the Brahmin.

As soon as, the Brahmin arrived at a lonely place, one of the cheats came out of his hiding place and asked Brahmin in a shocking manner, “Sir, what are you doing? I don't understand why a pious man like you needs to carry a dog on his shoulders?" The Brahmin was surprised to hear such words. He screamed, “Can't you see? It's not a dog but a goat, you stupid fool". The cheat replied,” Sir, I beg your pardon. I told you what I saw. I am sorry, if you don’t believe it.” The Brahmin was annoyed at the discrepancy, but started his journey once again.

The Brahmin had barely walked a distance, when another cheat came out of his hiding place and asked the Brahmin, “Sir, why do you carry a dead calf on your shoulders? You seem to be a wise person. Such an act is pure stupidity on your part." The Brahmin yelled, "What? How can you mistake a living goat for a dead calf?" The second cheat replied, ""Sir, you seem to be highly mistaken in this regard. Either you don’t know how does goat look like or you are doing it knowingly. I just told you what I saw. Thank you". The second cheat went away smiling. The Brahmin got confused, but continued to walk further.

Again the Brahmin had covered a little distance when the third cheat met him. The third cheat asked laughingly, "Sir, why do you carry a donkey on your shoulders? It makes you a laughing stock”. Hearing the words of the third thug, the Brahmin became really worried. He started thinking, “Is it really not a goat? Is it some kind of a ghost?" 

He thought that the animal he was carrying on his shoulders might really be some sort of a ghost, because it transformed itself from goat into a dog, from dog into a dead calf and from dead calf into a donkey. The Brahmin got frightened to such an extent that he hurled the goat on the roadside and ran away. The three tricksters laughed at the gullible Brahmin. They caught the goat and were happy to feast on it.

12)           THREE FISH

Once upon a time, there lived three fishes who were very close friends along with many other fishes in a pond near a village. One day, few men passing through that pond saw the plenty of fishes. One of the men said, "Hey look there, so many fishes in this pond! It is already evening now. We should come tomorrow morning and catch them all."

Hearing the fisherman, one of the three fishes, who was the wisest of them all called the other two fishes and said, "Did you friends hear what the fisherman said? We should leave this pond tonight itself, and move to a safe place quickly."

The second fish agreed to him and said, "Yes that's true, I think we should not be here anymore." But the third fish started laughing for what they both said. He replied, "This is our home. We should not run away like this."  

Unable to convince the third fish, the other two left the pond that night. The next day, the fishermen put a big net in that pond and caught a plenty of fishes. Poor third fish was one among them. If he had listened to his other two friends, he wouldn't have been caught like this.

13)         THE LAKE OF THE MOON

Once upon a time, there lived a herd of elephants in a deep jungle. Their king was a huge elephant by the name of Chaturdanta. In the middle of this jungle, there was a big lake where all the animals went to drink water. Once it so happened, that it didn't rain for the whole year and the lakes went dry. The elephants, after a great deal of discussion, decided to move to the other forest, where there was a lake named Chandrasar. This lake was full of water and never went dry even if there were no rains. And so, the elephants set out for the lake 'Chandrasar'. They felt very happy upon reaching the new lake. They bathed in the fresh water of the lake and also enjoyed playing and spewing water on each other by their trunks. After having bathed satisfactorily and quenched their thirst with the sweet water of the lake they came out of it and entered the deep forest. But, there lived many rabbits in their burrows around the lake area. When the herd of elephants walked around they stamped the burrows with their heavy feet. Thus, many rabbits were either killed or were left physically handicapped. So, in order to salvage the grave situation, the rabbits held a meeting and discussed this new calamity. At one point, they decided to shift from that dangerous place and live somewhere else. But a rabbit named Lambkarna advised them to exercise patience. He offered his services for the sake of all the other rabbits and said, "Don't worry friends. Just see, how I drive these~ elephants away from this forest The next day, Lambkarna sat on a high rock. The rock lay in the main path of the elephants, leading to the lake. When the elephant passed by the rock, the rabbit addressed the king of the elephants in a tough voice, "You're a cruel fellow. You've trampled many of my relatives and friends under your feet. I too am king of rabbits. I stay in the heaven with God Moon. God Moon is very much annoyed with you." The king elephant was frightened to hear this. He said in a trembling voice, "Please take me to God Moon. I'll ask for his forgiveness." "All right", said the clever rabbit. "See me tonight at the lake." The king elephant, then, as told by the rabbit, reached the lake at night. The king rabbit and the king elephant both stood near the edge of the lake. It was a silent and moonlit night. Mild breeze was blowing. The rabbit asked the elephant to look carefully into the water of the lake. As soon as the king elephant looked into the lake, he saw the reflection of half moon in the lake's water. Just then a mild breeze blew and the reflection of the moon in the water became wavy Pointing to the wavy reflection of the moon, the king rabbit said, "Look for yourself, how annoyed God Moon is with you. Better you ask for his mercy, otherwise, he might curse you to death ' " The king elephant became more and more frightened. He promised God Moon not to ever visit the lake with his friends. The rabbits lived happily, thereafter.

14)         A WISE OLD BIRD

There lived a flock of wild geese in a very tall tree. The tree was in a dense forest in the foothills of the Himalayas. The tall tree had many leafy branches that spread out like strong arms. Among the geese was an old wise bird who noticed that there was a small creeper growing at the foot of the tree. He showed the creeper to the others and said, “We must destroy it. One day it will grow big and then the hunters can easily climb up and kill us.” But the other birds did not pay heed to his advice. They said it would be a pity to cut a small creeper. “But when it grows up, it will become strong and hard to cut,” the old wise bird said. “We’ll see,” said the others and promptly forgot all about it.

As time passed, the creeper grew taller and stronger and winded its way up the 0 tree just as the old goose had once said. One day when the geese had gone out in search of food, a hunter climbed up the tree with the help of the creeper and laid his net there. In the evening when the geese returned, they found themselves trapped in the net, much to their shock. They tried hard to get out but failed. They cried for help but there was no one to hear their cries. The night passed in fear and worry. The old wise bird said, “I had warned you all to cut off the creeper but you did not listen. This is the result of your own folly. Tomorrow morning the hunter will come and kill us all.” The birds realized that they had been foolish in not listening to the wise bird and said they were sorry. They had learnt a big lesson. Then the wise bird said, “I’ll tell you of a plan to escape. Listen carefully. Tomorrow morning when the hunter comes to take his net, be very still and pretend you are dead. He will not want dead birds so he will throw us to the ground. Before he climbs down, we must all quickly fly away. That is the only way we can escape now.”

The geese waited eagerly for the morning to arrive. The hunter came early next morning with his son. He was glad to see that he had caught so many geese. But when he climbed up the creeper, he saw that they were all dead. So, he threw the geese to the ground one by one while his son watched. Whoosh! All the geese flapped up in the air and flew away. The hunter and his son were left staring after the geese, shocked and puzzled by the sight.

 15)         THE ELEPHANTS AND THE MICE

Once upon a time, a group of mice were living happily under a tree in a forest. On a sunny hot day, a group of elephants, in search of water walked through the area where the rats were living. As the elephants walked, they destroyed the homes of those rats and even killed some of them. The rats ran to the king of the rats for help.

The king of the rats went to the chief of those elephants and requested them to go through another alternative route to the pond. The chief of the elephants accepted the request of the mice and asked the other elephants to go in the other way, without disturbing the rats.

The king of the rats was very happy and pleased by the gesture of the chief of the elephant. He thanked the elephants and promised that in return the rats will surely help the elephants when needed in the future. Hearing what the rat said, the elephants laughed thinking how come a small rat help big elephants. After few months, on another pleasant day, when the rats were playing they heard a loud shouts of elephants coming from the direction of the pond. The king of the rats realized that the elephants are in some danger. He asked some of the strong rats in his group to come along, and went in the direction of that sound.

Near the pond, they saw the elephants being captured in the traps kept by some hunters. The rats quickly started biting the ropes and soon the elephants were set free. The elephants thanked the rats and also apologized for making fun of their appearance on the other day. 

16)         THE MUSICAL DONKEY

Once there lived a washer man and his donkey in a village. During the day, the donkey would carry the washer man’s bags. During the night the washer man would set him free in the field to eat grass. However, the donkey would sneak into nearby farms and eat the fresh vegetables there.

One day, while wandering thus, the donkey met a jackal. They became friends and the donkey invited the jackal to join him on his rendezvous at night. They started meeting every night. By day break, the donkey would be backing home.

This went on for many days. One day the jackal said, “Uncle, I have discovered a new field with ripe, juicy cucumbers not very far off. It is nothing less than a feast. Let’s go there tonight.”

So the donkey and the jackal went to feast on the cucumbers. The donkey feasted to his full, and said, “Nephew. I’ m so happy today. Look at the full moon. It is so beautiful that it makes me want to sing.”

The jackal said, “Uncle, we are stealing from this field. We cannot make ourselves heard. If you sing, the farmers will wake up and we will be caught. It is better to eat and forget about singing!”

The donkey was annoyed. “A wild animal like you cannot appreciate music. I will show you what real music sounds like.”

The jackal saw that the donkey was determined to sing. So he said, “Uncle, if you want to sing, please wait till I go out of the field so that I can keep an eye on the farmers.” Saying this jackal ran out and hid him.

The donkey lifted his face to the moon and started braying at the top of his voice. The farmers woke up and in the light of the full moon, could clearly see the donkey standing in the field. They chased him with sticks and stones and beat him black and blue.

As the donkey limped out of the field, the jackal came out of his hiding place and laughed. “Uncle, that was very nice singing. I see that the farmers have rewarded you well!”