jataka tales for children

8/22/2019 Jataka tales for Children

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JAI SRI RAM

JATAKA TALES

Compiled byS.Geethapriya

Price Rs. 22.00

Published by

Sri Aanjineyaa Pathippagam

1849, P.K.N ROAD, MUTHU CYCLE COMPLEX,

BYE PASS ROAD, SIVAKASI-626 189

CELL : 90034 - 58722


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CONTENTS

1. The Power of rumor 52. The Fortunate Fish 93. Interdependence 14

4. The Greedy Crow 185. The Quail King and the

Hunter

21

6. The Physician's Revenge 287. The Groom Who Lost His

Bride to the Stars

32

8. The Jackal who saved the

Lion

38

9. The Dog King Silver 43

10. The Cunning Wolf 55

CONTENTS

11. The Penny Wise Monkey 5912. The Golden Swan 6213. The Sandy Road 66

14. The Golden Plate 7315. The King with One Grey Hair 8016. Beauty and Grey 8617. Why the Owl Is Not King of

the Birds

92


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1. The Power of a rumor

A hare resting under a banyan tree had a

premonition of doom. What would happen to me if

the earth were to break up? he wondered.

Suddenly, there was a thud followed by a

rumbling sound.

Its happened, thought the hare, the earths

breaking up!

He jumped up and ran.

Why are you running? asked a hare who crossed

his path.

The earths breaking up! shouted the hare. Youd

better run too.

The second hare ran so fast he overtook the first.

The earths breaking up, the earths breaking up!

he shouted to other hares he passed. Soon

thousands of hares were scampering through the

forest.

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Other animals got caught up in the panic. The word

spread from mouth to mouth, and soon everyone

knew: the earth was breaking up.

It was not long before the whole jungle was on the

move. Reptiles, insects, birds and four-footed

animals fled in wild disorder, and their cries of

terror filled the air.


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A lion standing on a hillock saw the animals coming

and wondered what was going on. He hastened

down and positioning himself in front of the horde

called for it to stop.

His commanding presence stemmed the rising tide

of panic among the animals.

The earth is breaking up! shrieked a parrot,

alighting on a rock near him.

Who says so?

I heard it from the monkeys."

The monkeys said they had heard it from the

tigers, who said their informants were the

elephants, who gave the buffaloes as their source.

When the hares were finally implicated they

pointed one to another until the one who had

started it all was identified.

What makes you think the earth is breaking up?

the lion asked him.

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I heard it cracking with my own ears, sire,

squeaked the hare, trembling in fear.

The lion investigated the sound the hare had heard

and found that it had been caused by a large

coconut falling from a tree.

It had landed on a pile of rocks, causing a minor

landslide.

Go back to your homes, said the lion to the

animals who had been running away, and who were

now looking very foolish.

The earths safe. Next time, check a rumor

before acting on it.


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2. The Fortunate Fish

Once upon a time, King Brahmadatta had a very

wise adviser who understood the speech of

animals.

He understood what they said, and he could speak

to them in their languages.

One day the adviser was wandering along the

riverbank with his followers.

They came upon some fishermen who had cast a

big net into the river. While peering into the water,

they noticed a big handsome fish that was following

his pretty wife.

Her shining scales reflected the morning sunlight in

all the colors of the rainbow.

Her feather-like fins fluttered like the delicate wings

of a fairy, as they sent her gliding through the

water. It was clear that her husband was so

entranced by the way she looked and the way

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she moved, that he was not paying attention to

anything else!

As they came near the net, the wife fish smelled it.

Then she saw it and alertly avoided it at the very

last moment.

But her husband was so blinded by his desire for

her that he could not turn away fast enough.

Instead, he swam right into the net and was

trapped!

The fishermen pulled in their net and threw the big

fish onto the shore. They built a fire, and carved a

spit to roast him on.

Lying on the ground, the fish was flopping around

and groaning in agony.

Since the wise adviser understood fish talk, he

translated for the others.

He said, "This poor fish is madly repeating over and

over again


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"My wife! My wife! I must be with my wife!

I care for her much more than for my life!

My wife! My wife! I must be with my wife!

I care for her much more than for my life!"

The adviser thought,

"Truly this fish has gone crazy. He is in this terrible

state because he became a slave to his own desire.

And it is clear that he has learned nothing from the

results of his actions. If he dies keeping such

agony, and the desire that caused it, in his mind,

he will surely continue to suffer by being reborn in

some hell world. Therefore, I must save him!"

So this kind man went over to the fishermen and

said,

"Oh my friends, loyal subjects of our king, you

have never given me and my followers a fish for

our curry. Won't you give us one today?"

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They replied, "Oh royal minister, please accept

from us any fish you wish!"

"This big one on the riverbank looks delicious," said

the adviser.

"Please take him, sir," they said.


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Then he sat down on the bank. He took the fish,

who was still groaning, into his hands. He spoke to

him in the language only fish can understand,

saying,

"You foolish fish! If I had not seen you today, you

would have gotten yourself killed. Your blind desire

was leading you to continued suffering. From now

on, do not let yourself be trapped by your own

desires!"

Then the fish realized how fortunate he was to have

found such a friend. He thanked him for his wise

advice. The minister released the lucky fish back

into the river, and went on his way.

The moral is: Fools are trapped by their

own desires.

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3. Interdependence

In a clearing, deep in the forest, the trees were

having a pre-dawn discussion.

Animals come and rest in our shade but they leave

a mess behind, said the Jamun.

The smell on some days is unbearable!

They show no concern for us because were

silent, said the Sal.

But Ive had enough! Ive made up my mind to

drive away any animal that comes here!

That may not be a wise thing to do, said the

Peepul, the oldest and biggest tree there.

The animals are a nuisance, I agree, but they

serve a useful purpose. We are all inter-dependent

trees, animals, men . . .

Im sorry, interrupted the Sal.


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Ive great respect for your views but in this matter

I will not listen to anyone. I wont allow animals

here any more!

True to his word when a leopard came to rest in the

shade later that day, the Sal began to shake

violently from side to side. The leopard, frightened

out of his wits, jumped up and ran.

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The Sal drove away all the animals that came to

the clearing that day and in the days that followed.

In course of time animals stopped coming to that

part of the forest.

The Sal became a great hero to the younger trees

in the neighborhood and even some of the older

ones began bowing to him when the Peepul was

not looking.

Then one day two woodcutters came to the

clearing.

Men! gasped the Sal.

Why have they come here? Theyve never come

here before.

If theyve never come here before it was because

they were afraid of the animals, said the Peepul.

Now the absence of the leopard and the tiger has

made them bold.


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The Sal began to tremble with fear and with good

reason. It was the first tree the woodcutters

chopped down.

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4. The Greedy Crow

Once upon a time there was a fine pigeon who used

to live on a nest close to a kitchen. The cooks of

the kitchen used to like her very much and often

used to feed her grain. She liked the place and her

life was fine. One day a crow saw the pigeon and

saw how it was getting wonderful food from the

kitchen.


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Then one day she made friends with the pigeon,

and under the pretext of friendship, she somehow

made the pigeon to share the nest with the crow.

The pigeon then told her that they could spend

time together discussing politics, religion etc but

when it came to food both had their own ways.

So she suggested the crow to search for her own

food. But the crow was impatient and the very

reason she had made friends with the pigeon was

for the food.

The crow wanted meat and all the pigeon got was

grains from the kitchen.

It could not wait any longer and ultimately decided

that she visit the kitchen directly for the food.

Thinking so it stealthily crept down the chimney

into the kitchen. She got the smell of a fish

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being curried on the pan. She got greedy and went

ahead and tried to get the fish. But in the process

she disturbed a ladle, and created a noise. This

alerted the cook who was in the neighboring room

and he caught hold of the crow and killed it.

Moral: Greed Numbs intelligence.


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5. The Quail King and the

Hunter

Once upon a time, there was a Quail King who

reigned over a flock of a thousand quails.

There was also a very clever quail hunter. He knew

how to make a quail call.

Because this sounded just like a real quail crying

for help, it never failed to attract other quails. Then

the hunter covered them with a net, stuffed them

in baskets, and sold them to make a living.

Because he always put the safety of his flock first.

Quail King was highly respected by all. While on the

lookout for danger, one day he came across the

hunter and saw what he did.

He thought, This quail hunter has a good plan for

destroying our relatives.

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I must make a better plan to save us."

Then he called together his whole nation of a

thousand quails.

He also invited other quails to attend the meeting.

He said,

"Greetings to our quail nation and welcome to our

visitors. We are faced with great danger. Many of

our relatives are being trapped and sold by a clever

hunter. Then they are being killed and eaten. I

have come up with a plan to save us all. When the

hunter covers us with his net, every single one of

us must raise his neck at the same time. Then, all

together, we should fly away with the net and drop

it on a thorn bush. That will keep him busy, and we

will be able to escape with our lives."

All agreed to follow this smart strategy.


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The next day the hunter lured the quails with his

quail call as usual. But when he threw his net over

them, they all raised up their necks at once, flew

away with the net, and dropped it on a thorn bush.

He could catch no quails at all! In addition, it took

him the rest of the day to loosen his net from the

thorns - so he had no time left to try again!

The same thing happened on the following day. So

he spent a second day unhooking his net from

sharp thorns.

He arrived home only to be greeted by his wife's

sharp tongue!

She complained,

"You used to bring home quail to eat, and money

from selling quails. Now you return empty-handed.

What do you do all day? You must have another

wife somewhere, who is feasting on quail meat at

this very moment!"

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The hunter replied, "Don't think such a thing, my

darling. These days the quails have become very

unified. They act as one, and raise up their necks

and carry my net to a thorn bush. But thanks to

you, my one and only wife, I know just what to do!

Just as you argue with me, one day they too will

argue, as relatives usually do. While they are

occupied in conflict and bickering, I will trap them

and bring them back to you. Then you will be

pleased with me again. Until then, I must be

patient."

The hunter had to put up with his wife's complaints

for several more days. Then one morning afterbeing lured by the quail call, it just so happened

that one quail accidentally stepped on the head of

another. He immediately got angry and squawked

at her. She removed her foot from his head and

said, "Please don't be angry with me.Please excusemy mistake."


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But he would not listen.

Soon both of them were squawking and squawking,

and the conflict got worse and worse!

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Hearing this bickering getting louder and louder,

Quail King said,

"There is no advantage in conflict. Continuing it will

lead to danger!"

But they just wouldn't listen.

Then Quail King thought,

"I'm afraid this silly conflict will keep them from

cooperating to raise the net." So he commanded

that all should escape. His own flock flew away at

once.

And it was just in time too! Suddenly the quail

hunter threw his net over the remaining quails. The

two arguing quails said to each other,

"I won't hold the net for you."

Hearing this, even some of the other quails said,

"Why should I hold the net for anyone else?"

So the conflict spread like wildfire. The hunter

grabbed all the quails,stuffed them in his


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baskets, and took them home to his wife. Of course

she was overjoyed, and they invited all their friends

over for a big quail feast.

The moral is: There is safety in unity, and

danger in conflict.

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6. The Physician's Revenge

A girl threw a firebrand at a goat that was eating

her corn and the goats coat caught fire. Maddened

with fear, it ran to a haystack and started rubbingagainst it. The haystack was soon ablaze.

The fire spread to the barn and then to the stables

in which the royal elephants were housed. Some of

the elephants were badly burnt before the fire was

finally put out.

The men looking after the elephants could not heal

their wounds. So the king sent for his own

physician.

On the way to the palace the physician lay down

under a tree for a nap. Hardly had he closed his

eyes than he felt something warm running down

his face. He got up with a start and found that


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a crow that was sitting on a branch directly above

him, had spattered him with its droppings. The

physician cursed the crow and wiping his face,

continued on his way, but in a foul mood. When he

reached the palace and the king asked him for a

remedy for the elephants wounds he replied: "Rub

the wounds with crow's fat, lots of crows fat!"

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And so began a great slaughter of crows.

Thousands were shot and it looked as if the

slaughter would continue till all the crows in the

kingdom were dead. One day, a crow flew into the

palace and settled down in front of the king.

Soldiers rushed forward to catch it, but the king

waved them back.

"Let it be, he said.

Perhaps it has come to tell me something."

"I have," said the bird.

"I am the king of crows and I have come to tell you

that you are doing us a great wrong. You are being

led astray by a man bent on revenge against my

brethren."

"You are making a serious accusation," said the

king." Have you any proof?"

"I have," said the crow.

"The proof lies in the fact that crows have no fat,

otherwise you would have got bucketfuls


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of it from the thousands you have already

slaughtered."

The king felt ashamed of what he had done and

immediately stopped the slaughter of the birds.

It is important to evaluate advice before

acting on it

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7. The Groom Who Lost His

Bride to the Stars

Once upon a time, there was a rich family living in

Benares, in northern India. They arranged for their

son to marry a good and honest girl from a nearby

village.

Being very pretty as well, they were sure they

could not find a better wife for their son.

The groom's family decided on a date for the

wedding.

The bride's family agreed to meet them in the

village on the wedding day.

Meanwhile, the rich family also had their own

special astrological priest.

When he found out they had picked the wedding

day, without paying him to consult the stars, he

became angry. He decided to get even with them.


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When the wedding day arrived, the astrological

priest dressed up in his finest robes, and called the

family together.

He bowed to them all, and then looked at his star

charts very seriously.

He told them that this star was too close to the

horizon, and that planet was in the middle of an

unlucky constellation, and the moon was in a very

dangerous phase for having a wedding.

He told them that, not seeking his advice, they had

picked the worst day of the year for a wedding.

This could only lead to a terrible marriage.

The frightened family forgot all about the wonderful

qualities of the intended bride, and remained home

in Benares.

Meanwhile the bride's family had arranged

everything for the village wedding ceremony.

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When the agreed upon hour arrived, they waited

and waited for the future husband and his family.

Finally they realized they were not coming.

So they thought, "Those city people picked the date

and time, and now they didn't show up. This is

insulting! Why should we wait any longer? Let our

daughter marry an honorable and hard working

village man."

So they quickly arranged a new marriage and

celebrated the wedding.

The next day, the astrological priest said that,

suddenly, the stars and planets and moon were in

perfect positions for a wedding!

So the Benares family went to the village and

asked for the wedding to take place. But the village

people said,

"You picked the date and time. Then you disgraced

us by not showing up!"


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The city people replied,

"Our family priest told us that yesterday the stars

and planets and moon were in terrible positions. It

was a very unlucky day for a wedding. But he has

assured us that today is a most lucky day. So

please send us the bride at once!"

The village family said,

"You have no honor. You have made the choice of

the day more important than the choice of the

bride. It's too late now! Our daughter has married

another."

Then the two families began to quarrel heatedly.

A wise man happened to come along. Seeing the

two families quarrelling so, he tried to settle the

dispute.

The city people told him that they had respected

the warnings of their astrological priest.It was because of the unlucky positions

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of the stars and planets and moon, that they had

not come to the wedding.

The wise man said,

"The good fortune was in the bride, not in the

stars. You fools have followed the stars and lost the

bride. Without your foolishness, those far off stars

can do nothing!"

The moral is: Luck comes from actions,

not from stars.

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8. The Jackal who saved theLion

Once upon a time, there lived a lion in a forest.

One day, when he went to drink water in a river,

one of his feet got stuck into the damp mushy mud

of the river. He tried a lot to get out of the mud,

but to no avail. He had to lie without food for days

because he didnt find any help. On one fortunate

day, a kind jackal came to drink water from the

river.

When he saw the lion, he went closer to the lion

and said, What is the matter? Why are you resting

here?

The lion narrated him the pathetic story. The Jackal

instantly made a way out from the sand but the

lion was unable to move his feet. As he was set in

the same posture for last several days, his body

became stiff.


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The jackal understood the condition of the lion and

helped him to get out of the mud with an extra

effort. The Lion was really thankful to jackal for his

kind help. He was very happy to get free after so

many days.

The Lion appreciated the effort made by the jackal.

He offered the jackal to live close to him and also

promised to give food to him whenever he caught

food.

The jackal accepted the offer and started living with

the lion. Thus, they lived happily sharing the food.

With the passing time, they expanded their

families. The lion had cubs and the jackal had kid

jackals. Both, the lion and the jackal were passing

their days happily. They didnt have any idea that

their friendship was not liked by their families.

One day after a long time, the lioness, lady of the

lion's house, asked her cubs that she

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didnt like the amity between the jackal and her

husband. The cubs conveyed the message to the

kid jackals. The kids complained the matter to the

lady jackal. The lady jackal conveyed the complaint

to her husband.

The jackal went to the Lion and asked,

I helped you without any consideration in return.

You had asked me to live with you, so I started

living with you. Now, if you dont want me to live

with you, you should have told me yourself. What

did you involve your wife and cubs to convey this?

The Lion was shocked to hear such words. He said,

My dear friend, what are you saying? I dont find

any problem with you or your friendship.

He assured the jackal that he had no such ill-

feelings for the friendship between them.

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The Lion also assured that he would talk to the

lioness and solve the whole matter. The jackal was

intelligent and understood the situation. He said to

the lion, Dear friend, I know you are sincere, but

our families could not exactly respond the same

level of friendship. So, let us stay apart and meet

often as friends. We could also hunt together. It

would be better, if our families stay apart. The

Lion agreed to the proposal with a heavy heart.

The two families parted from each other as friends.

The Jackal and the Lion continued to share the

friendship. They often met each other and hunt

together. Thus, the two friends shared a healthy

friendship throughout their life.

Moral: Dont expect your family to

reciprocate the same level of friendship

you have with someone.


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9. The Dog King SilverOnce upon time, the King of Benares went to his

pleasure garden in his fancy decorated chariot. He

loved this chariot, mostly because of the rich hand-

worked leather belts and straps.

On this occasion, he stayed in his pleasure garden

all day long and into the evening.

It was late when he finally got back to the palace.So the chariot was left outside in the compound all

night, instead of being locked up properly.

During the night it rained heavily, and the leather

got wet, swelled up, became soft, and gave off an

odor.

The pampered palace dogs smelled the delicious

leather scent and came down into the compound.

They chewed off and devoured the soft wet chariot

straps.

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Before daybreak, they returned unseen to theirplaces in the palace.

When the king woke up and came down, he saw

that the leather had been chewed off and eaten by

dogs.

He called the servants and demanded to know how

this happened.

Since they were supposed to watch the palace

dogs, the servants were afraid to blame them.

Instead, they made up a story that stray dogs, the

mutts and mongrels of the city, had come into the

grounds through sewers and storm drains. They

were the ones who had eaten the fancy leather.

The king flew into a terrible rage. He was so

overcome by anger that he decided to take

vengeance against all dogs. So he decreed that

whenever anyone in the city saw a dog, he was


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to kill him or her at once!

The people began killing dogs. The dogs could not

understand why suddenly they were being killed.Later that day, they learned of the king's decree.

They became very frightened and retreated to the

cemetery just outside the city. This was where their

leader lived, the Dog King Silver.

Silver was king not because he was the biggest or

strongest or toughest. He was average in size, with

sleek silver fur, sparkling black eyes and alert

pointed ears.

He walked with great dignity, that brought

admiration and respect from men as well as dogs.

In his long life he had learned much, and was able

to concentrate his mind on what is most important.

So he became the wisest of all the dogs, as well as

the one who cared most for the

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others.

Those were the reasons he was king of the dogs.

In the cemetery, the dogs were in a panic.They were frightened to death.

The Dog King Silver asked them why this was.

They told him all about the chariot straps and the

king's decree, and the people killing them

whenever they saw them.

King Silver knew there was no way to get into the

well-guarded palace grounds.

So he understood that the leather must have been

eaten by the dogs living inside the palace.

He thought,

"We dogs know that, no matter how different we

may appear, somehow we are all related. So now I

must make my greatest effort to save the lives of

all these poor dogs, my relatives. There is no one

to save them but me."

He comforted them by saying,

"Do not be afraid. I will save you all. Stay here


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in the cemetery and don't go into the city. I will tell

the King of Benares who are the thieves and who

are the innocent. The truth will save us all."

Before setting out, he went to a different part ofthe cemetery to be alone.

Having practiced goodness all his life, and trained

his mind, he now concentrated very hard and filled

his mind with feelings of loving-kindness. He

thought,

"May all dogs be well and happy, and may all dogs

be safe. I go to the palace for the sake of dogs and

men alike. No one shall attack or harm me."

Then the Dog King Silver began walking slowly

through the streets of Benares.

Because his mind was focused, he had no fear.

Because of his long life of goodness, he walked

with a calm dignity that demanded respect. And

because of the warm glow of loving-kindness

that all the people sensed, no one felt the rising

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of anger or any intention to harm him.

Instead, they marveled as the Great Being passed,

and wondered how it could be so!

It was as if the whole city were entranced. With noobstruction, the Dog King Silver walked right past

the palace guards, into the royal hall of justice, and

sat down calmly underneath the king's throne

itself!

The King of Benares was impressed by such

courage and dignity. So when servants came to

remove the dog, he ordered them to let him

remain.

Then the Dog King Silver came out from under the

throne and faced the mighty King of Benares. He

bowed respectfully and asked,

"Your majesty, was it you who ordered that all the

dogs of the city should be killed?"

"It was I," replied the king.

"What crime did the dogs commit?" asked the dog

king.

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"Dogs ate my rich beautiful chariot leather and

straps."

"Do you know which dogs did this?" asked King

Silver. "No one knows," said the King of Benares.

"My lord," said the dog, "for a king such as you,

who wishes to be righteous, is it right to have all

dogs killed in the place of the few guilty ones? Does

this do justice to the innocent ones?" The king

replied, as if it made perfect sense to him,

"Since I do not know which dogs destroyed my

leather, only by ordering the killing of all dogs can I

be sure of punishing the guilty. The king must have

justice!"

The Dog King Silver paused for a moment, before

challenging the king with the crucial question

" My lord king, is it a fact that you have ordered

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all dogs to be killed, or are there some who are not

to be killed?"

The king suddenly became a little uneasy as he was

forced to admit, before his whole court,

"It is true that most dogs are to be killed, but not

all. The fine pure-breeds of my palace are to be

spared."

Then the dog king said, "My lord, before you said

that all dogs were to be killed, in order to insure

that the guilty would be punished. Now you say

that your own palace dogs are to be spared.

This shows that you have gone wrong in the way of

prejudice. For a king who wishes to be righteous, it

is wrong to favor some over others. The king's

justice must be unbiased, like an honest scale.

Although you have decreed an impartial death to all

dogs, in fact this is only the slaughter of poor dogs.

Your rich palace dogs are unjustly saved,


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while the poor are wrongly killed!"

Recognizing the truth of the dog king's words, the

King of Benares asked, "Are you wise enough to

know which dogs ate my leather straps and belts?"

"Yes my lord, I do know," said he, "it could only be

your own favorite palace dogs, and I can prove it."

"Do so," said the king.

The dog king asked to have the palace pets brought

into the hall of justice. He asked for a mixture of

buttermilk and grass, and for the dogs to be made

to eat it. Lo and behold, when this was done they

vomited up partly digested pieces of the king's

leather straps!

Then the Dog King Silver said, "My lord, no poor

dogs from the city can enter the well-guarded

palace compound. You were blinded by prejudice. It

is your dogs who are the guilty ones. Nevertheless,

to kill any living being is an

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unwholesome thing to do. This is because of what

we dogs know, but men do not seem to know - that

somehow all life is related, so all living beings

deserve the same respect as relatives."

The whole court was amazed by what had just

taken place. The King of Benares was suddenly

overcome by a rare feeling of humility.

He bowed before the dog king and said,

"Oh great king of dogs, I have never seen anyone

such as you, one who combines perfect wisdom

with great compassion. Truly, your justice is

supreme. I offer my throne and the kingdom of

Benares to you!"

The Enlightenment Being replied,

"Arise my lord, I have no desire for a human

crown. If you wish to show your respect for me,

you should be a just and merciful ruler. It wouldhelp if you begin to purify your mind by


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practicing the 'Five Training Steps'. These are to

give up entirely the five unwholesome actions:

destroying life, taking what is not given, sexual

wrong-doing, speaking falsely, and drunkenness."

The king followed the teachings of the wise dog

king. He ruled with great respect for all living

beings. He ordered that whenever he ate, all dogs,

those of the palace and those of the city, were to

be fed as well. This was the beginning of the

faithfulness between dogs and men that has lasted

to this day.

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The moral is: Prejudice leads to injustice,

wisdom leads to justice.


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10. The Cunning Wolf

Once upon a time, some people from a certain

town went into a forest for an excursion. They want

to enjoy the holiday to its fullest. They took baskets

full of eatables with them. They ate all the meat

they had brought with them till the noon time. They

didnt leave anything for the dinner and suddenly

realized that what they would eat in the dinner.

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They wanted to enjoy the vacation and without

proper food, it was quite impossible.

One of the men said,

There is no need to worry. I will bring some fresh

meat. We will make a fire here and roast it. It will

be a great fun too.

After saying this, he took a club and went to the

lake. He knew that the animals would definitely

come to the riverside for drinking water. He lay

down on the ground with a club in his hand and

pretended as if, he was dead.

After some time, a group of wolves came down to

the lake.

When they saw the man lying on the riverside, they

kept an eye on him for some time. The King of the

wolves said,

I think, this man is playing trick on us. All of you

stay here, while I will go and check whether he is

really dead or pretending to be dead.


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So, the cunning king of the wolves slithered up to

the man and pulled his club a little cautiously. The

man pulled back his club at once.

The King of the wolves ran from the place and

shouted,

If you had been dead, you would not have pulledback you club when I tried to pull it. I caught your

trick. You pretended to be dead so that you may

kill one of us for your dinner.

The man quickly jumped up and tried to kill the

wolf. He chucked his club at the King of the Wolves.

Unfortunately, the man missed his aim and the wolf

safely ran away. He looked for the other animals,

but none of them was visible. All of them ran away.

The man got frustrated at this, but could not do

anything. Thus, he went back to his friends and

said,

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I tried to get fresh meat by playing a trick on the

animals, but the cunning wolf played a better trick

on me. I am sorry. I could not get fresh meat for

you.


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11. The Penny Wise Monkey

Once upon a time, there lived the King of a big and

affluent country. The King was quite fond of

traveling. Usually, he didnt like to visit his own

country; instead he went to other countries. One

day, he assembled his army to move out for a

holiday to some distant country. The King and his

soldiers walked for the whole morning in the forest.

After this, they went into the camp to take some

rest.

The horses were also tired, so they were fed with

peas. One of the Monkeys, who lived in the forest,

was keeping a track of the things done by the

kings men from a distance. When he saw peas

offered to the horses, he jumped down from the

tree at once to get some of them. He quickly

gobbled some peas, also filled his mouth

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and hands with them.

Then, he went up the tree and sat down to eat the

peas.

As and when, he sat there to eat peas; one pea fell

from his hand to the ground.

The greedy monkey dropped all the peas he had in

his hands and ran down to look for the lost pea at

once. Unluckily, he could not find that one pea. He

climbed up the tree again and sat at rest. He was

looking very sad.

He said to himself,

To get one pea, I threw away what I had.

The King was watching the monkey from


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the camp and said to himself,

I would not be like this stupid monkey, who lost

much to gain a little. I will go back to my own

country and enjoy what I have.

Thus, the King and his army marched back to their

own country.

Moral: Value the things you have.

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12. The Golden Swan

Once upon a time, there was a swan that had

striking golden feathers. This swan lived in a pond.

There was a house near this pond, where a poor

woman lived with her two daughters.

The people were really poor and were leading a

tough life. The swan found that the poor mother

was passing a hard time with her daughters.

The swan thought,

If I give them one after another my golden

feathers, the mother can sell them.


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She and her daughters can live in comfort with the

money raised from it.

After thinking this, the swan flew away to the poor

womans house. On seeing the swan inside the

house, the woman said,

Why have you come here? We have nothing to

offer you.

The Swan replied, I have not come to take

anything, but I have something to give you. I know

your condition. I will give my golden feathers one

by one and you can sell them. With the money

raised through it, you people can easily live in

comfort.

After saying this, the swan shed one of her feathers

and then flew away.

This became a regular feature and from time to

time, the swan came back and every time left

another feather.

Like this, the mother and her daughters were

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happily leading their life by selling the feathers of

the golden swan. Each golden feather got them

enough money to keep them in comfort. But the

mother became greedy to get all the feathers as

soon as possible. One day, she said to her

daughters,

Now, we will not trust this swan, possibly she may

fly away and never come back. If this would

happen, we will be poor again. We will take all of

her feathers, when she will come the next time.

The innocent daughters replied, Mother, this will

hurt the swan. We will not cause any pain to her.

But the mother was determined to catch hold the

swan the very next time she comes. Next time,

when the swan came, the mother caught her and

pulled out all of her feathers.

Now, the golden feathers of the swan changed


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into some strange feathers. The mother was

shocked to see such feathers.

The Golden Swan said,

Poor Mother, I wanted to help you, but you

wanted to kill me instead. As per my wish, I used

to give you the golden feather. Now, I think there

is no need to help you. Now, my feathers are

nothing more than chicken feathers for you. I am

going from this place and will never come back.

The mother felt sorry and apologized for the

mistake committed by her.

The Golden Swan said, Never be greedy and flew

away.

Moral: Excess greed brings nothing.

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13. The Sandy Road

Once upon a time, there lived a merchant in a

small village. The merchant dealt in different kinds

of goods. He wanted to sell his goods in the town,

in order to gain good sum of profits. One day, he

decided to go to the town to try his fortune. He

arranged for some men who could go along with

him. During the journey, he had to pass through a

desert, so he also arranged for


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water, rice and firewood.

According to the plan, he packed his goods in

several carts and set out for the journey along with

his mates. When they reached the desert, the sun

was shining on the fine sand, making it severely

hot. In the day time, no one could dare to walk on

it.

One could only think of travel through the desert

during the night time, when the moon made the

sands cool. So, the merchant and his people waited

for the night to start their further journey.

With the arrival of night, they started their journey.

One of them, had knowledge about the stars, so he

was guiding the way to other people by reading the

position of stars. T

hey traveled for the whole night without taking any

break. At daybreak, they stopped and camped.

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They released the oxen from the carts and fed

them. They made fire, cooked the rice and ate the

food to their fill.

They spread a huge covering over all the carts and

the oxen. Subsequently, all the men laid down

under it, to rest till the sunset.

When the sun set in the early evening, they again

built fire and cooked rice. After the meal, they

folded the covering and tied the oxen to the carts.

As soon as, the sand became cool, they again

started their journey across the desert. Night after

night, they traveled in such manner and rested

during the day time.

On the last morning, the one who was guiding the

group said,

In one more night, we will cross the desert. Every

one was happy to hear this, as all of them were

tired.


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After taking meal in the evening, the merchant

said,

Now, you people can throw the water and the

firewood because tomorrow we will reach the town.

Tie the oxen and start.

The Guide took his position at first in the line of the

carts, but instead of sitting and guiding the drivers,

he laid down in the cart on the cushions. Soon, he

was in a deep slumber because he had not slept for

many nights and in the daytime, the sun had been

so strong that he had not slept properly.

The oxen went on, for the whole night. Near

daybreak, the guide awoke and looked at the last

stars fading in the light. He said to the drivers,

Stop! We are in the same place where we were

yesterday. The oxen must have turned about while

I slept.

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They released the oxen, but there was no water for

them to drink, as they had thrown away the water

the previous night.

They spread out the covering over the carts and

the oxen rested tired and thirsty. The men lay

down too, saying, Without wood and water, we are

lost.

Every one was tired and sat down. The merchant

thought,

This is no time for me to sleep. I have to find

water. The oxen cannot start unless they get water

to drink. The people need water other wise they

cannot cook rice. If I give up, we will lose. There

must be water somewhere below. He walked down

and down, keeping a close watch of the ground.

Finally, he saw some grass and thought, There

must be water somewhere below otherwise that

grass would not be there.


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He ran back, shrieking to the people, Get the

spade and the hammer.

All of them jumped up and ran with the merchant

to the spot where he saw the grass. They started

digging and after much toil, they struck a rock.

After this, they could dig no further. The merchant

jumped down into the hole they had dug and kept

his ear to the rock. He called to them,

I can hear water running under this rock. We must

not give up. Then, the merchant came out of the

hole and said to the serving boy, My boy, if you

give up, we are lost. Please go down and try.

The boy stood up raising the hammer high above

his head and hit the rock with his full strength. He

didnt give up, thinking the words of the merchant.

Every time the hammer came down, he thought

that everyone must be saved.

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Ultimately, the rock broke, the boy hardly got any

time to come out of the hole and it was full of

water. All the men drank water, as if they could

never get enough. They watered the oxen and took

bath.

After drinking and bathing, they split the extra

wooden yokes and axles from their carts. They

made a fire out of it and cooked their rice. They

had their meal and rested through the day. They

also placed a flag on the well, so that the passing

travelers could see and have water. After the

sunset, they started their journey and reached the

town in the morning. They sold the goods making

huge profits and happily returned back to their

village.

Moral: Will and Determination can achieve

anything.


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14. The Golden Plate

Once upon a time in a place called Seri, there were

two salesmen of pots and pans and hand-made

trinkets.

They agreed to divide the town between them.They also said that after one had gone through his

area, it was all right for the other to try and sell

where the first had already been.

One day, while one of them was coming down a

street, a poor little girl saw him and asked her

grandmother to buy her a bracelet. The old

grandmother replied,

"How can we poor people buy bracelets?" The little

girl said,

"Since we don't have any money, we can give our

black sooty old plate."

The old woman agreed to give it a try, so she

invited the dealer inside.

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The salesman saw that these people were very

poor and innocent, so he didn't want to waste his

time with them.

Even though the old woman pleaded with him, he

said he had no bracelet that she could afford to

buy. Then she asked, "We have an old plate that is

useless to us, can we trade it for a bracelet?"

The man took it and, while examining it, happened

to scratch the bottom of it.

To his surprise, he saw that underneath the black

soot, it was a golden plate! But he didn't let on that

he had noticed it. Instead he decided to deceive

these poor people so he could get the plate for next

to nothing. He said, "This is not worth even one

bracelet. There's no value in this. I don't want it!"

He left, thinking he would return later when they

would accept even less for the plate.


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Meanwhile the other salesman, after finishing in his

part of town, followed after the first as they had

agreed. He ended up at the same house. Again the

poor little girl begged her grandmother

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to trade the old plate for a bracelet. The woman

saw that this was a nice tender looking merchant

and thought,

"He's a good man, not like the rough-talking first

salesman."

So she invited him in and offered to trade the same

black sooty old plate for one bracelet. When he

examined it, he too saw that it was pure gold under

the grime. He said to the old woman, "All my goods

and all my money together are not worth as much

as this rich golden plate!"

Of course the woman was shocked at this

discovery, but now she knew that he was indeed a

good and honest fellow.

So she said she would be glad to accept whatever

he could trade for it. The salesman said, "I'll giveyou all my pots and pans and trinkets, plus all my

money, if you will let me


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keep just eight coins and my balancing scale, with

its cover to put the golden plate in."

They made the trade. He went down to the river,

where he paid the eight coins to the ferry man to

take him across.

By then the greedy salesman had returned, already

adding up huge imaginary profits in his head.

When he met the little girl and her grandmother

again, he said he had changed his mind and was

willing to offer a few cents, but not one of his

bracelets, for the useless black sooty old plate.

The old woman then calmly told him of the trade

she had just made with the honest salesman, andsaid,

"Sir, you lied to us."

The greedy salesman was not ashamed of his lies,

but he was saddened as he thought ,

78

"I've lost the golden plate that must be worth a

hundred thousand."

So he asked the woman,

"Which way did he go?"

She told him the direction. He left all his things

right there at her door and ran down to the river,

thinking,

"He robbed me! He robbed me! He won't make a

fool out of me!"

From the riverside he saw the honest salesman still

crossing over on the ferry boat.

He shouted to the ferry man,

"Come back!"

But the good merchant told him to keep on going

to the other side, and that's what he did.

Seeing that he could do nothing, the greedy

salesman exploded with rage.

He jumped up and down, beating his chest.


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He became so filled with hatred towards the honest

man, who had won the golden plate, that

he made himself cough up blood.

He had a heart attack and died on the spot!

The moral is:"Honesty is the best policy."

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15. The King with One Grey

Hair


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A very very long time ago, there were people who

lived much longer than they do today. They lived

many thousand years.

At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born as

a baby named Makhadeva. He lived 84,000 years

as a child and crown prince. At the time of our

story, he had been a young king for 80,000 years.

One day, Makhadeva told the royal barber,

"If you see any grey hair on my head, you must tell

me immediately!"

Of course, the barber promised to do so.

Another 4,000 years passed, until Makhadeva had

been a young king for 84,000 years.Then one day, while he was cutting the king's hair,

the royal barber saw just one little grey hair on all

the king's head.

So he said, "Oh my lord, I see one grey hair on

your head."

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The king said, "If this be so, pull it out and put it in

my hand."

The barber got his golden tweezers, plucked out

the single little grey hair, and put it in the king's

hand.

At that time, the king still had at least another

84,000 years left to live as an old king! Looking at

the one grey hair in his hand, he became very

afraid of dying.

He felt like death was closing in on him, as if he

were trapped in a burning house. He was so afraid,

that the sweat rolled down his back, and he

shuddered.

King Makhadeva thought,

"Oh foolish king, you have wasted all this long life

and now you are near death. You have made no

attempt to destroy your greed and envy, to live

without hating, and to get rid of your


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ignorance by learning the truth and becoming

wise."

As he thought this, his body burned and the sweat

kept rolling down. Then he decided once and for all,

"It is time to give up the kingship, be ordained as a

monk, and practice meditation!"

Thinking so, he granted the income of a whole town

to the barber. It amounted to one-hundred-

thousand per year.

Then the king called his oldest son to him and said,

"My son, I have seen a grey hair. I have become

old. I have enjoyed the worldly pleasures of great

wealth and power. When I die, I want to be reborn

in a heaven world, to enjoy the pleasures of the

gods. So I will be ordained as a monk. You must

now take the responsibility of ruling the country. I

will live the life of a monk in the forest."

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Hearing of this, the royal ministers and the rest of

the court rushed to the king and said,

"Our lord, why do you suddenly want to be

ordained?"

The king held up the grey hair in his hand and said,

"My ministers and subjects, I have realized that

this grey hair shows that the three stages of life -

youth, middle age and old age - are coming to an

end. This first grey hair was the messenger of

death sitting on my head. Grey hairs are like angels

sent by the god of death. Therefore, this very day

is the time for me to be ordained."

The people wept at the news of his departure. King

Makhadeva gave up his royal life, went into the

forest, and was ordained as a monk. There he

practiced what holy men call the 'Four

Heavenly States of Mind'. First is loving-kindness,

tender affection for all.


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Second is feeling sympathy and pity for all those

who suffer. Third is feeling happiness for all those

who are joyful. And the fourth state is balance and

calm, even in the face of difficulties or troubles.

After 84,000 years of great effort meditating and

practicing these states as a humble forest monk,

the Bodhisatta died. He was reborn in a high

heaven world, to live a life a million years long!

The moral is: Even a long life is too short

to waste.

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16. Beauty and Grey

Once upon a time, there was a deer who was the

leader of a herd of a thousand.

He had two sons. One was very slim and tall, with

bright alert eyes, and smooth reddish fur. He was

called Beauty.

The other was Grey in color, also slim and tall, and

was called Grey.

One day, after they were fully grown, their father

called Beauty and Grey to him. He said, "I


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am now very old, so I cannot do all that is

necessary to look after this big herd of deer. I want

you, my two grown-up children, to be the leaders,

while I retire from looking after them all the time.

We will divide the herd, and each of you will lead

500 deer."

So it was done.

In India, when the harvest time comes, the deer

are always in danger. The rice is at its tallest, and

the deer cannot help but go into the paddies and

eat it.

To avoid the destruction of their crops, the human

beings dig pits, set sharp stakes in the ground, and

build stone traps - all to capture and kill the deer.

Knowing this was the season, the wise old deer

called the two new leaders to him. He advised them

to take the herds up into the mountain forest, far

from the dangerous farm lands.

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This was how he had always saved the deer from

being wounded or killed. T

hen he would bring them back to the low lands

after the harvest was over.

Since he was too old and weak for the trip, he

would remain behind in hiding.

He warned them to be careful and have a safe

journey. Beauty set out with his herd for the

mountain forest, and so did Grey with his.

The villagers all along the way knew that this was

the time the deer moved from the low lying farm

lands to the high countryside.

So they hid along the way and killed the deer as

they passed by.

Grey did not pay attention to his father's wise

advice. Instead of being careful and traveling

safely, he was in a hurry to get to the lush

mountain forest.


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So he moved his herd constantly, during the night,

at dawn and dusk, and even in broad daylight.

This made it easy for the people to shoot the deer

in Grey's herd with bows and arrows.

Many were killed, and many were wounded, only to

die in pain later on. Grey reached the forest with

only a few deer remaining alive.

The tall sleek red-furred Beauty was wise enough

to understand the danger to his moving herd. So

he was very careful.

He knew it was safer to stay away from the

villages, and from all humans. He knew it was not

safe in the daytime, or even at dawn or dusk.

So he led his herd wide around the villages, and

moved only in the middle of the night. Beauty's

herd arrived in the mountain forest safe and sound,

with no one killed or injured.

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The two herds found each other, and remained in

the mountains until well after the harvest season

was over.

Then they began the return to the farmland

country.

Grey had learned nothing from the first trip. As it

was getting cold in the mountains, he was in a

hurry to get to the warmer low lands.

So he was just as careless as before. Again the

people hid along the way and attacked and killed

the deer.

All Grey's herd were killed, later to be eaten or sold

by the villagers.

Grey himself was the only one who survived the

journey.

Beauty led his herd in the same careful way as

before. He brought back all 500 deer, completelysafe. While the deer were still in the distance, the

old chief said to his doe,


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"Look at the deer coming back to us. Beauty has all

his followers with him. Grey comes limping back

alone, without his whole herd of 500. Those who

follow a wise leader, with good qualities, will always

be safe. Those who follow a foolish leader, who is

careless and thinks only of himself, will fall into

troubles and be destroyed."

After some time, the old deer died and was reborn

as he deserved. Beauty became chief of the herd

and lived a long life, loved and admired by all.

The moral is: A wise leader puts the safety

of his followers first.

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17. Why the Owl Is Not King of

the Birds

Once upon a time, the people who lived together

when the world was young took a certain man for

their king. The four-footed animals also took one of

their numbers for their king. The fish in the ocean

chose a king to rule over them. Then the birds

gathered together on a great flat rock, crying:


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"Among men there is a king, and among the

beasts, and the fish have one, too; but we birds

have none. We ought to have a king. Let us choose

one now."

And so the birds talked the matter over and at last

they all said,

"Let us have the Owl for our king."

No, not all, for one old Crow rose up and said, "For

my part, I don't want the Owl to be our king. Look

at him now while you are all crying that you want

him for your king. See how sour he looks right now.

If that's the cross look he wears when he is happy,

how will he look when he is angry? I, for one, want

no such sour-looking king!"

Then the Crow flew up into the air crying,

"I don't like it! I don't like it!"

The Owl rose and followed him.

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From that time on the Crows and the Owls have

been enemies. The birds chose a Turtle Dove to be

their king, and then flew to their homes.

For the same reason crows torment the

Owls as they sleep in the daytime. The

Owls try to kill the Crows while they sleep

at night

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Worlds Richest Man Bill Gates lists some rules of life

which kids dont learn in school

1. Life is not fair; get used to it.

2. The world won't care about your self-esteem. The

world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE

you feel good about yourself.

3. If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so

don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

4. Television is NOT real life. In real life people

actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for

one.

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5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your

grandparents had a different word for burger flipping;

they called it opportunity.

6. You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year

right out of high school. You won't be a vice president

with a cell phone, until you earn both.


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jataka tales for children

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