This
is one more interesting story from the Hitopadesha Tales. Once upon a time,
there lived a Lion by the name of Madotkata in a forest. Among his followers, a
Jackal, a Crow and a Wolf had developed friendship with him. However, all the
three had a selfish motive behind this so-called friendship. They knew that the
Lion was the King of the forest and friendship with such fierce creature would
always help them. To meet their selfish ends, they started obeying and were
always available at the service of the Lion.
They
didn’t have to make any efforts to search for their food, as the Lion used to
give his leftover meals to them. Moreover, they became powerful as they were
next to the King of the forest. So like this, all the three selfish friends
were passing their days happily being the friends of the Lion. One day, a
Camel, who came from some distant land, lost his way and entered the same
forest where these friends lived. He tried his best to find out the way, but
could not make it.
In
the meantime, these three friends happened to pass through the same way where
the Camel was wandering. When they saw the Camel, at once it came to their mind
that he didn’t belong to their forest. The Jackal suggested to his other two
friends, “Let’s kill and eat him”. The Wolf replied, “It is a big animal. We
could not kill him like this. I think, first we should inform our King about
this Camel”. The Crow agreed upon the idea given by the Wolf. After deciding,
all of them went to meet the Lion.
On
reaching the Lion’s den, the Jackal approached the Lion and said, “Your
Majesty, an unknown Camel has dared to enter your kingdom without your consent.
His body is full of flesh and he could make a nice meal for us. Let’s kill
him”. The Lion roared loudly on hearing this and said, “What are you saying?
The Camel has come for refuge in my kingdom. It is unethical to kill him like
this. We should provide him the best shelter. Go and bring him to me”. All of
them got dispirited to hear such words from the King.
They
unwillingly went to the Camel and told him about the desire of the Lion, who
wanted to meet him. The Camel was scared to know about the strange offer. He
thought that his last moment had come and in a little while he would become the
meal of the Lion. As he couldn’t even escape, so he decided to meet the Lion
and left everything on the destiny. The selfish friends escorted the Camel to
the Lion’s den. The Lion was happy to see the Camel. He welcomed him warmly and
assured him of all the safety in the forest during his stay.
The
Camel was totally amazed to hear the Lion’s words. He got very happy and
started living with the Jackal, the Crow and the Wolf. One day, when the Lion
was hunting for food, he had a struggle with a mighty Elephant. The Lion got
badly injured in the struggle and became incapable of hunting for his food.
Stricken by bad luck, the Lion had to sustain without food for days. Due to
this, his friends too had to go hungry for days as they totally depended on the
Lion’s kill for their food. But the Camel was satisfied grazing around in the
forest.
All
the three friends got worried and discussed the matter among them. On reaching
a conclusion, they approached the Lion and said, “Your Majesty, you are getting
weak day by day. We can’t see you in this wretched condition. Why don’t you kill
the Camel and eat him?” The Lion roared, “No. How can you think such thing? He
is our guest and we should not kill him. Don’t give such suggestions to me in
future”. As the jackal, the crow and the wolf had set their evil eyes on the
camel; they met once again and devised a plan to kill the Camel.
They
went to the Camel and said, “Dear Friend, you know our King has not eaten
anything from the past many days. He is unable to go for hunting due to his
wounds and sickness. Under such circumstances, it becomes our duty to sacrifice
ourselves to save the life of our king. Come with us, we will offer our bodies
to make his food”. The Camel didn’t understand their plan, but innocently he
nodded in favor of their plan. All of them approached the den of the Lion.
First
of all, the Crow came forward and said, “Your Majesty, we didn’t succeed in
getting any food for you. I can’t see you like this. Please eat me and make me
obliged”. The Lion replied, “Dear, I will prefer to die than to perform such a
sinful deed”. Then, the Jackal came forward and said, “Your Majesty, Crow’s
body is too small to satisfy your appetite. I offer myself to you, as it is my
duty to save your life”. The Lion politely rejected the offer. As per the plan,
now it was the turn of the Wolf to offer himself to the King.
So,
the Wolf came forward and said, “Your Majesty, Jackal is quite small to gratify
your hunger. I offer myself for this kind job. Please kill me and satisfy your
hunger”. After saying this, he lay prostrate before the Lion. But the Lion
didn’t kill any of them. The Camel, who was watching the whole scene felt
reassured of his safety and also decided to go forward and complete the
formality. He marched forward and said, “Your Majesty, why don’t you kill me.
You are my friend. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Please allow me to
offer you my body”.
The
Lion found the offer quite appropriate, as the Camel himself had offered his
body for food, his ethics were maintained. The Lion attacked the Camel at once,
ripped open his body and tore him into pieces. The Lion and his friends ate the
delicious flesh to their fill. They feasted on the poor Camel for days
together.
Moral:
Beware of Mean Friends
COURTESY: www.culturalindia.net
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