Once a dog was strolling near a forest when he saw a jackal sitting with her cubs. The dog sensed a resemblance with them. He went near and said –
‘We look the same. We must be from the same family. I think we should live together as one.’
The jackal too didn’t see much difference between herself and the dog, so she agreed to the proposal.
They went together until they reached a warm-looking den. They sniffed around and knew it was a den of a lion. The lion was apparently away, so the dog, the jackal, and her cubs went inside and made themselves comfortable.
In the evening, they sensed the lion approaching. The cubs got scared and began to cry.
‘Why are they making such a distressing noise?’ the dog asked the jackal.
‘They are asking for the lion’s heart,’ said the jackal loudly. She wanted the lion to hear.
The dog was smart so he understood what the jackal was up to.
‘Why don’t you give them the heart I brought the other day,’ said the dog loudly.
‘They are not gonna eat stale heart! They want it fresh,’ the jackal replied.
‘Tell them to be quiet for a while. I can sense a lion coming this way, I will kill it and bring a fresh heart,’ the dog said.
The lion heard all this. He believed a stronger creature than him was inside his den. He ran away in a jiffy. The dog and the jackal made that den their home after that.
(Taken from Folk Tales from Nepal: The Origin of Alcohol and Other Stories, Keshar Lall, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 2009)
Discussion:
This tale is about characters of similar nature coming together to fight opposition and adversity. This tale doesn’t give a good message as it is about occupying what belongs to others and deceiving the rightful owner with trickery and teamwork.
What we can learn from this is –
There are lots of dogs and jackals in this world. Be alert and discover the truth before giving up!
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