The Jackal and
the pond full of fish
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| the jackal and the pond full of fish |
One day, he
found a pond which had only a little water, a lot of mud and many kinds of fish
in it.
“I’m hungry
today,” the jackal thought, “I’m very hungry.”
A shrimp in
the pond knew what the jackal was thinking. “Brother Jackal,” he said in a kind
voice, “You can eat us all up. But look, we’re covered in mud. If you eat us
like this, we’ll taste horrible.”
“What can I
do to make you taste nice?” asked the jackal.
“Take us
away and wash us,” said the shrimp.
“But there
are thousands of fish in the pond. Where can I take you all? And how can I wash
you all?”
“Don’t
worry,” said the shrimp. “Just stretch out in the mud. Let some of us hang on
to your fur. Then you can get up and take us to pond with a lot of water in it,”
The jackal
was greedy and stupid. So he did what the shrimp said. He stretched out in the
mud. Some of the fish hung on to his fur. Then the jackal got up and went to
look for another into it. The fish in his fur jumped off into the water.
“Go back,”
said the shrimp to the jackal, “and pick up the other fish.” So the jackal went
back and got some more of the fish. Again and again, he walked back to the old
pond. At last, all the fish were in the pond full of water.
When the
fish saw they were all together again, they swam away into deep water. When jackal
saw they had tricked him, he was very angry.
He hurried
away to look for big animals, snakes, and birds. He found elephants, tiger,
buffaloes, and pigs. He found python and cobras. He found crows, sparrows, and
vultures. He said to them, “Please help me to empty all the water out of the
pond.”
He said to
the python, “the animals and birds will take the water out of the pond. Then you
can Swallow it.”
When the
fish in the pond heard this, they were frightened. They said to each other, “What
can we do to stop these animals?”
A cat-fish
said, “People say the hare is very clever animal. He knows how to help animals
in trouble. Shall I go and ask him to help us?”
The other
fish agreed. So the cat-fish left the pond to look for the hare. All day he
moved slowly and heavily along the ground—flip flop, flip flop. In the evening,
the hare came out to look for some food. When he saw the catfish he asked, “Where
are you going?”
The cat-fish
was happy to see the hare and said, “Oh brother hare, have pity on me. The fish
in the pond have asked me to find you. People say you are very clever. You can
help animals in trouble. Please help us. All kinds of animals and snakes and
birds have come to our pond. They are going to take the water out of the pond. Then
the python will swallow the water and the jackal will eat up all the fish! Come
and help us.”
“all right”
said the hare, “Go back and tell the other fish not to be afraid.” The cat –fish
then went back to the pond.
The next
morning, the hare come along. He saw the animals taking out the water. He found
a long leaf which some worms had eaten. It was full of little holes. He shouted
to the animals, “Brothers! I have a letter to you from the great God Indra,” he
looked at the left and pretended to read it. “He says he will come and break
the ducks’ leg and crush the eagles. He will
cut off the jackal’s head and pull out the elephant’s tusks!”
The animals
were frightened when they heard this. They climbed on top of each other. Then they
climbed on top of the pythons. The pythons burst. All the pond water rushed out
of their bodies. The water came out so fast that all the animals drowned.
And instead
of the animals eating the fish, the fish ate the animals.
