“Why didst thou, O fruit, fall on my head,” cried the hermit.
The fruit answered: “We did not wish to [28 ] fall; a mon-goose ran against our vine and threw us down.”
And the hermit asked, “O mon-goose, why didst thou throw the fruit?”
The mon-goose answered: “I did not wish to throw down the fruit, but the red ants bit me and I ran against the vine.”
The hermit asked, “O ants, why did ye bite the mon-goose?”
The red ants replied: “The hen flew against our nest and angered us.”
The hermit asked, “O hen, why didst thou fly against the red ants’ nest?”
And the hen replied: “The seed fell into my eyes and hurt me.”
And the hermit asked, “O seed, why didst thou fall into the hen’s eyes?”
And the seed replied: “The deer shook me down.”