And the beloved Ananda folded a robe and spread it as a seat and he sat and told this tale:
“In this very spot long, long ago, was a young Quail, and he lay in the nest and his parents fed him, for he could neither fly nor walk. And with a mighty roar there came a jungle fire and all the birds fled shrieking away and even his parents deserted him.
“So the young Quail lay there alone, and he thought this:
“Could I fly, could I walk, I might be saved, but I cannot. No help have I from others and in myself is none. What then shall I do?”
And he reflected thus.
“In this world is Truth if it can be found. There are also the Buddhas who have seen the Truth and have shown it abroad, and in the Buddhas is love for all that lives. In me also is the Truth (though but a poor little Quail) and faith that has power. Therefore it behoves me, relying on these things to make an Act of Faith and thus to drive back the fire and find safety for myself and the other birds.
“So the Quail called to mind the Powers of the Buddhas, the Truth-Seers, and making a solemn asseveration of faith existing in himself he said this:
“Wings have I that cannot fly,
Feet I have that cannot walk.
My parents have forsaken me,