FABLES FROM INDIA
The Lion, the Fox, and the Story-teller
A Lion who was the king of a great forest once said to his subjects: "I want some one among you to tell me stories one after another without ceasing. If you fail to find somebody who can so amuse me, you will all be put to death."
In the East there is a proverb which says; "The king kills when he will," so the animals were in great alarm.
The Fox said: "Fear not; I shall save you all. Tell the king the Story-teller is ready to come to court when ordered." So the animals had orders to send the Story-teller at once to the presence. The Fox bowed respectfully, and stood before the king, who said: "So you are to tell us stories without ceasing?"
"Yes, your Majesty," said the Fox.
"Then begin," said the Lion.
"But before I do so," said the Fox, "I would like to know what your
Majesty means by a story."
"Why," said the Lion, "a narrative containing some interesting event or fact."
"Just so," said the Fox, and began: "There was once a fisherman who went to sea with a huge net, and spread it far and wide. A great many fish got into it. Just as the fisherman was about to draw the net the coils snapped. A great opening was made. First one fish escaped." Then the Fox stopped.
"What then?" said the Lion.
"Then two escaped," said the Fox.
"What then?" asked the impatient Lion.
"Then three escaped," said the Fox. Thus, as often as the Lion repeated his query, the Fox increased the number by one, and said as many escaped. The Lion was vexed, and said: "Why you are telling me nothing new!"
"I wish that your majesty may not forget your royal word," said the Fox. "Each event occurred by itself, and each lot that escaped was different from the rest."
"But wherein is the wonder?" said the Lion.
"Why, your majesty, what can be more wonderful than for Fish to escape in lots, each exceeding the other by one?"
"I am bound by my word," said the Lion, "else I would see your carcass stretched on the ground."
The Fox replied in a whisper: "If tyrants that desire things impossible are not at least bound by their own word, their subjects can find nothing to bind them."
The Fox in the Well
A Fox fell into a well, and was holding hard to some roots at the side of it, just above the water. A Wolf who was passing by saw him, and said, "Hollo, Reynard; after all you have fallen into a well!"
"But not without a purpose, and not without the means of getting out of it," said the Fox.
"What do you mean?" said the Wolf.
"Why," said the Fox, "there is a drought all over the country now, and the water in this well is the only means of appeasing the thirst of the thousands that live in this neighbourhood. They held a meeting, and requested me to keep the water from going down lower; so I am holding it up for the public good."
"What will be your reward?" asked the Wolf.
"They will give me a pension, and save me the trouble of going about every day in quest of food, not to speak of innumerable other privileges that will be granted me. Further, I am not to stay here all day. I have asked a kinsman of mine, to whom I have communicated the secret of holding up the water, to relieve me from time to time. Of course he will also get a pension, and have other privileges. I expect him here shortly."
"Ah, Reynard, may I relieve you, then? May I hope to get a pension, and other privileges? You know what a sad lot is mine, especially in winter."
"Certainly," said the Fox, "but you must get a long rope, that I may come up and let you down."
So the Wolf got a rope. Up came the Fox, and down went the Wolf; when the former observed, with a laugh, "My dear sir, you may remain there till doomsday, or till the owner of the well throws up your carcass," and left the place.
"Alas!" said the Wolf, when it was too late, "greed hath its meed!"
The Fawn and the Little Tiger
A Fawn met a little Tiger, and said: "What fine stripes you have!"
The little Tiger said: "What fine spots you have!"
Then the Fawn said: "It would be such a nice thing if you and I were to live together as friends. We might then roam through the woods as we like, and be so happy!"
"I think so too," said the Tiger.
The two joined hands, and went out for a long walk. It was breakfast time. The Fawn saw some fine grass in the lawn, and said to himself: "One should first see his friend fed and then feed." So he turned to the Tiger and said, "Will you have some of this fine grass for your breakfast?"
The Tiger put his nose to the grass but could not bring himself to feed upon it, because it was against his nature; so he replied, "I am so sorry, I cannot eat it!"
Then the Fawn said: "Allow me to go home for one moment and ask mamma for something that would suit you for breakfast."
So the Fawn went home and told the Hind of the happy friendship he had formed, and of all that had happened since.
The Hind replied, "Child, how lucky it is that you have come away! You must know the Tiger is the most deadly enemy we have in the woods."
At these words the Fawn drew near to his dam and trembled.
The Hind said: "It is indeed lucky to get away from the wicked at the first hint!"
The Fox and the Villagers
A Fox that had long been the dread of the village poultry yard was one day found lying breathless in a field. The report went abroad that, after all, he had been caught and killed by some one. In a moment, everybody in the village came out to see the dead Fox. The village Cock, with all his hens and chicks, was also there, to enjoy the sight.
The Fox then got up, and, shaking off his drowsiness, said: "I ate a number of hens and chicks last night; hence I must have slumbered longer than usual."
The Cock counted his hens and chicks, and found a number wanting.
"Alas!" said he, "how is it I did not know of it?"
"My dear sir," said the Fox, as he retreated to the wood, "it was last night I had a good meal on your hens and chicks, yet you did not know of it. A moment ago they found me lying in the field, and you knew of it at once. Ill news travels fast!"
Tinsel and Lightning
A piece of Tinsel on a rock once said to a Pebble: "You see how bright
I am! I am by birth related to the lightning."
"Indeed!" said the Pebble; "then accept my humble respects."
Some time after, a flash of lightning struck the rock, and the Tinsel lost all its brilliancy by the scorching effects of the flash.
"Where is your brilliancy now?" said the Pebble.
"Oh, it is gone to the skies," said the Tinsel, "for I have lent it to the lightning that came down a moment ago to borrow it of me."
"Dear me!" said the Pebble; "how many fibs doth good bragging need!"
The Glow-worm and the Daw
A Jackdaw once ran up to a Glow-worm and was about to seize him. "Wait a moment, good friend," said the Worm; "and you shall hear of something to your advantage."
"Ah! what is it?" said the Daw.
"I am but one of the many Glow-worms that live in this forest. If you wish to have them all, follow me," said the Glow-worm.
"Certainly!" said the Daw.
Then the Glow-worm led him to a place in the wood where a fire had been kindled by some woodmen, and pointing to the sparks flying about, said: "There you find the Glow-worms warming themselves around a fire. When you have done with them, I will show you some more, at a distance from this place."
The Daw darted at the sparks, and tried to swallow some of them; but his mouth being burnt by the attempt, he ran away exclaiming, "Ah, the Glow-worm is a dangerous little creature!"
Said the Glow-worm with pride: "Wickedness yields to wisdom!"
The Lion and the Gadfly
Once a Lion was sleeping in his den at the foot of a great mountain when a Gadfly that had been sipping the blood from his mouth bit him severely. The Lion started up with a roar, and catching the Fly in his huge paws, cried: "Villain, you are at my mercy! How shall I punish your impudence?"
"Sire," said the Fly, "if you would pardon me now, and let me live, I shall be able to show ere long how grateful I am to you."
"Indeed!" said the Lion; "who ever heard of a Gadfly helping a Lion?
But still I admire your presence of mind and grant your life."
Some time after, the Lion, having made great havoc on the cattle of a neighbouring village, was snoring away in his den after a heavy meal. The village hunters approached with the object of surrounding him and putting an end to his depredations.
The Fly saw them, and hurrying into the den, bit the Lion. He started up with a roar as before, and cried: "Villain, you will get no pardon this time!"
"Sire," said the Fly, "the village hunters are on their way to your den; you can't tarry a moment here without being surrounded and killed."
"Saviour of my life!" cried the lion as he ran up the mountain. "There is nothing like forgiving, for it enables the humblest to help the highest."
The Sunling
In the good old days a Clown in the East, on a visit to a city kinsman, while at dinner pointed to a burning candle and asked what it was. The city man said, in jest, it was a Sunling, or one of the children of the sun.
The Clown thought that it was something rare; so he waited for an opportunity, and hid it in a chest of drawers close by. Soon the chest caught fire, then the curtains by its side, then the room, then the whole house.
After the flames had been put down, the city man and the Clown went into the burnt building to see what remained. The Clown turned over the embers of the chest of drawers. The city man asked what he was seeking for. The Clown said: "It is in this chest that I hid the bright Sunling; I wish to know if he has survived the flames."
"Alas," said the city man, who now found out the cause of all the mischief, "Never jest with fools!"
The Despot and the Wag
A Despot in the East wished to have a great name as a very munificent prince, so he gave large presents to every one of note that came to his court, but at the same time his officers had secret orders to waylay the recipients of his gifts and recover them.
In this manner many a man had been rewarded and plundered. Once a wag came to court, and amused every one by his drolleries. The King gave him a great many presents, including a horse. After taking leave of the King and his courtiers, the Wag bundled up the presents and put them over his shoulders, and mounting the horse, facing the tail, was going out. The King asked him why he acted in that manner.
"Sire," said the Wag, "simply to see if your officers were coming behind, that I may at once hand over the bundle to them and go about my business."
The Despot was abashed, and stopped giving any more presents, saying: "Giving is but giving in vain, when we give to take again."
The Crane and the Fool
In the East there lived a Fool, who went one day to his fields and said: "I sowed a month ago; should the crops stand two months more, I shall get three hundred bushels of corn. But I am in a hurry, so if I should reap now, I dare say I shall have one hundred bushels at least."
A Crane who heard his words said: "If I were you, I should have all the three hundred bushels this very day."
"How?" said the Fool.
"Why," said the Crane, "you stored up water in the tank to feed the crops for three months. A month has elapsed, so water enough for two months more remains in the tank. Should you open the sluices and let all the water flow into the fields, you will have all the corn at once."
"Are you sure I shall have all the corn at once?" said the Fool.
"Oh, yes," said the Crane, "there is not the slightest doubt. My geographical knowledge is extensive, for I have travelled over a great part of the world; so you may depend on my wide knowledge and experience."
The Fool then let all the water flow into the fields. The Crane invited his kindred, and they together ate all the big fish left in the tank first, and then, hovering over the fields, picked up all the small fish that had gone out with the water. A great portion of the crops was swept away; what remained was soon buried in the mud.
The Fool sat on the bank of the lake and wept, saying: "The Crane's geography ruined me."
"My friend," said the Crane, "my geography was as good as your arithmetic. It is all the same whether you fall into the ditch from this side or that!"
The Lion and the Goat
A Lion was eating up one after another the animals of a certain country. One day an old Goat said: "We must put a stop to this. I have a plan by which he may be sent away from this part of the country."
"Pray act up to it at once," said the other animals.
The old Goat laid himself down in a cave on the roadside, with his flowing beard and long curved horns. The Lion on his way to the village saw him, and stopped at the mouth of the cave.
"So you have come, after all," said the Goat.
"What do you mean?" asked the Lion.
"Why, I have long been lying in this cave. I have eaten up one hundred elephants, a hundred tigers, a thousand wolves, and ninety-nine lions. One more lion has been wanting. I have waited long and patiently. Heaven has, after all, been kind to me," said the Goat, and shook his horns and his beard, and made a start as if he were about to spring upon the Lion.
The latter said to himself: "This animal looks like a Goat, but it does not talk like one, so it is very likely some wicked spirit in this shape. Prudence often serves us better than valour, so for the present I shall return to the wood," and he turned back.
The Goat rose up and, advancing to the mouth of the cave, said, "Will you come back to-morrow?"
"Never again," said the Lion.
"Do you think I shall be able to see you, at least, in the wood to-morrow?"
"Neither in the wood, nor in this neighbourhood any more," said the
Lion, and running to the forest, soon left it with his kindred.
The animals in the country, not hearing him roar any more, gathered around the Goat, and said: "The wisdom of one doth save a host."
The Man and His Piece of Cloth
A Man in the East, where they do not require as much clothing as in colder climates, gave up all worldly concerns and retired to a wood, where he built a hut and lived in it.
His only clothing was a Piece of Cloth which he wore round his waist. But, as ill-luck would have it, rats were plentiful in the wood, so he had to keep a cat. The cat required milk to feed it, so a cow had to be kept. The cow required tending, so a cowboy was employed. The boy required a house to live in, so a house was built for him. To look after the house, a maid had to be engaged. To provide company for the maid, a few more houses had to be built, and people invited to live in them. In this manner a little township sprang up.
The man said: "The farther we seek to go from the world and its cares, the more they multiply!"
The Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters
A Fox was once caught in a trap. A hungry Tiger saw him and said, "So you are here!"
"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper.
"How so?" said the Tiger.
"Why, you were complaining you could not get men to eat, so I got into this net to-day, that you may have the men when they come to take me," said the Fox, and gave a hint that if the Tiger would wait a while in a thicket close by, he would point out the men to him.
"May I depend upon your word?" said the Tiger.
"Certainly," said the Fox.
The hunters came, and, seeing the Fox in the net, said: "So you are here!"
"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper.
"How so?" said the men.
"Why, you were complaining you could not get at the Tiger that has been devouring your cattle. I got into this net to-day that you may have him. As I expected, he came to eat me up, and is in yonder thicket," said the Fox, and gave a hint that if they would take him out of the trap he would point out the Tiger. "May we depend upon your word?" said the men.
"Certainly," said the Fox, while the men went with him in a circle to see that he did not escape.
Then the Fox said to the Tiger and the men: "Sir Tiger, here are the men; gentlemen, here is the Tiger."
The men left the Fox and turned to the Tiger. The former beat a hasty retreat to the wood, saying, "I have kept my promise to both; now you may settle it between yourselves."
The Tiger exclaimed, when it was too late: "Alas! what art for a double part?"
The Hare and the Pig
A Hare and a Pig once agreed to leap over a ditch. The Hare went a great way, and fell into it, just short by an inch. The Pig went some way and fell into it; but far behind the Hare. Yet they were eager to know which of them leapt more, and was therefore the better animal.
So they said to a Fox, who had been watching the race: "Will you tell us which of us is superior, and which inferior, in the race?"
The Fox said: "Both in the ditch: can't say which!"
The Peacock and the Fox
A Fox, who had an eye on a Peacock, was one day standing in a field with his face turned up to the sky.
"Reynard," said the Peacock, "what have you been doing?"
"Oh, I have been counting the stars," said the Fox.
"How many are they?" said the Peacock.
"About as many as the fools on earth," said the Fox.
"But which do you think is the greater, the number of the stars or of the fools?" asked the Peacock.
"If you put it so, I should say the fools are more by one," said the
Fox.
"Who is that one?" said the Peacock.
"Why, my own silly self!" said the Fox.
"How are you silly, Reynard?" questioned the Peacock.
"Why, was it not foolish of me to count the stars in the sky, when I could have counted the stars in your brilliant plumage to better advantage?" said the Fox.
"No, Reynard," said the Peacock, "therein is not your folly—although there is neither wit nor wisdom in your prattle—but in the thought that your fine words would make an easy prey of me!"
The Fox quietly left the place, saying: "The Knave that hath been found out cannot have legs too quick."
The Tiger and the Giraffe
A Tiger, named Old Guile, who had grown weak with age, was lying under a tree by the side of a lake in quest of some animal off which he could make a meal.
A Giraffe, named Tall Stripes, who came to the lake to quench his thirst, attracted his attention, and Old Guile addressed him as follows: "Oh, what a happy day! I see there the son of my old friend Yellow Haunch, who lived in the great forest near that distant mountain."
Tall Stripes was astonished to hear the words of Old Guile, and asked him how he, a Tiger, could be the friend of his father, a Giraffe.
"I am not surprised at your question," replied Old Guile; "it is a truth known to very few indeed that the Tiger and the Giraffe belong to the same family. Just look at your skin and my own: yours is of a pale yellow colour, mine is very nearly the same; you have stripes, I have them, too. What more proofs do you want?"
Tall Stripes, who was extremely simple and guileless, believed these words, and said: "I am very happy to know that my father was your friend, and that we are of the same family. Can I do anything for you?"
Old Guile replied, "No, thank you; old as I am, I make it a point of relying on myself. Further, a great part of my time is spent in prayer and meditation; for I consider it necessary, at this age, to devote all my attention to spiritual things. It will, however, be a great gratification to me to have your company whenever you should chance to pass by this lake."
Tall Stripes acceded to this request, and was about to go on his Way, when Old Guile observed; "My dear Tall Stripes, you are well aware of the instability of all earthly things. I am old and infirm, and who knows what may happen to me to-morrow. Perhaps I may not see you again; so let me do myself the pleasure of embracing you before you leave me for the present."
"Certainly," said Tall Stripes. Thereupon Old Guile rose up slowly from his seat, like one devoid of all energy, and embracing him, plunged his deadly teeth into his long neck, and stretching him on the ground made a hearty breakfast on him.
Beware of the crafty professions of the wicked.
The Man of Luck and the Man of Pluck
A King in the East said to his Minister; "Do you believe in luck?"
"I do," said the Minister.
"Can you prove it?" said the King.
"Yes, I can," said the Minister.
So one night he tied up to the ceiling of a room a parcel containing peas mixed with diamonds, and let in two men, one of whom believed in luck and the other in human effort alone. The former quietly laid himself down on the ground; the latter after a series of efforts reached the parcel, and feeling in the dark the peas and the stones, ate the former, one by one, and threw down the latter at his companion, saying, "Here are the stones for your idleness." The man below received them in his blanket.
In the morning the king and the minister came to the room and bade each take to himself what he had got. The Man of Effort found he had nothing beyond the peas he had eaten. The Man of Luck quietly walked away with the diamonds.
The Minister said to the King: "Sire, there is such a thing as luck; but it is as rare as peas mixed with diamonds. So I would say: 'Let none hope to live by luck.'"
The Fox and the Crabs
One day a Fox seated himself on a stone by a stream and wept aloud. The Crabs in the holes around came up to him and said: "Friend, why are you wailing so loud?"
"Alas!" said the Fox, "I have been turned by my kindred out of the wood, and do not know what to do."
"Why were you turned out?" asked the Crabs in a tone of pity.
"Because," said the Fox, sobbing, "they said they should go out to-night hunting Crabs by the stream, and I said it would be a pity to lull such pretty little creatures."
"Where will you go hereafter?" said the Crabs.
"Where I can get work," said the Fox; "for I would not go to my kindred again, come what would."
Then the Crabs held a meeting, and came to the conclusion that, as the Fox had been thrown out by his kindred on their account, they could do nothing better than engage his services to defend them. So they told the Fox of their intention. He readily consented, and spent the whole day in amusing the Crabs with all kinds of tricks.
Night came. The moon rose in full splendour. The Fox said: "Have you ever been out for a walk in the moonlight?"
"Never, friend," said the Crabs; "we are such little creatures that we are afraid of going far from our holes."
"Oh, never mind!" said the Fox; "follow me! I can defend you against any foe."
So the Crabs followed him with pleasure. On the way the Fox told them all sorts of delightful things, and cheered them on most heartily. Having thus gone some distance, they reached a plain, where the Fox came to a stand, and made a low moan in the direction of an adjacent wood. Instantly a number of foxes came out of the wood and joined their kinsman, and all of them at once set about hunting the poor Crabs, who fled in all directions for their lives, but were soon caught and devoured.
When the banquet was over, the Foxes said to their friend: "How great thy skill and cunning!"
The heartless villain replied, with a wink: "My friends, There is cunning in cunning."
The Camel and the Pig
A Camel said: "Nothing like being tall! Look how tall I am!"
A Pig, who heard these words, said: "Nothing like being short! Look how short I am!"
The Camel said: "Well, if I fail to prove the truth of what I said, I shall give up my hump."
The Pig said: "If I fail to prove the truth of what I have said, I shall give up my snout."
"Agreed!" said the Camel.
"Just so!" said the Pig.
They came to a garden, enclosed by a low wall without any opening. The Camel stood on this side the wall, and reaching the plants within by means of his long neck made a breakfast on them. Then he turned jeeringly to the Pig, who had been standing at the bottom of the wall without even a look at the good things in the garden, and said: "Now, would you be tall, or short?"
Next they came to a garden, enclosed by a high wall, with a wicket gate at one end. The Pig entered by the gate and, after having eaten his fill of the vegetables within, came out, laughing at the poor Camel, who had had to stay outside, because he was too tall to enter the garden by the gate, and said: "Now, would you be tall, or short?"
Then they thought the matter over, and came to the conclusion that the Camel should keep his hump and the Pig his snout, observing: "Tall is good, where tall would do; if short, again, 'tis also true!"