Rash action

The king and the monkeys

Once upon a time, a king ruled over a small, but prosperous state. His children were fond of monkeys. So the king ordered a number of mon- keys to be brought to the palace. These monkeys were housed and fed well by the king's servants, The leader of the monkeys was very intelligent, and trained the younger ones to become leaders and able administrators.

Now, the king had a stable of horses. His young sons used to ride the horses. They had goats, too. One of the goats was very fond of food. Sneaking into the kitchen unseen, he would eat whatever he could find there. If the cook saw him stealing food, he would throw a stick or a pot at it. The leader of the monkeys saw this game between the cook and the wily goat from afar and was concerned. I am sure this will lead to trouble for us he thought. This goat has become a slave to food and the cook mant remove it from the kitchen. He will throw whatever is nearby. It may be a stick or embers from the hearth. This will set the goat's fus-covered body ablaze. He will panic and run into the stable. The stable will catch fire and burn the horses. The great veterinarian Shalihotra has said that the fat of monkeys is the best medicine for burns. That will mean the end of us monkeys."

The leader of the monkeys then called the nee keys and told them that his instincts predicted that the fight between the cook and the goat would harm them injuries do we eat in the forest? How can we eat that food The old monkey was really grieved with their response.

He said. "Listen to me. Right now, you cannot see the terrible times that lie ahead. You only see the palace comforts now. These will not last long I cannot witness the end of our tribe, so I am leaving, He who does not get to see a friend in distress or his house occupied by an enemy or of the division of his country is the happiest of all

With a heavy heart, the old monkey left all of them. A few days later, the wily goat entered the royal kuchen again. The cook, finding nothing else handy, took out a piece of burning wood from the fire and hurled it at the goat. His fur ablaze, the goat panicked and ran into the stable where the haystacks caught fire. Many horses died in the fire, while others were burnt. The expert veterinarians advised the king to use monkey fat for healing the burns.

The king ordered that all the monkeys be killed and their fat used to heal the horses' burns. The old monkey was distressed by the devastation of his tribe. He started planning his revenge. Wandering restlessly. He also said that it was in their own interest to leave the comfort of the palace as quickly as possible. He aho added that wise men said, "He who wants to live peacefully must leave a troubled place. Like war breaks up kingdoms, bad words sep- arate the best of friends.

The rebellious younger ones, however, refused to listen to the advice of the old monkey.

"Siz, they said, 'you are now old and senile. We shall not leave. We have so much food here. What do we eat in the forest? How can we eat that food The old monkey was really grieved with their response.

He said. "Listen to me. Right now, you cannot see the terrible times that lie ahead. You only see the palace comforts now. These will not last long I cannot witness the end of our tribe, so I am leaving, He who does not get to see a friend in distress or his house occupied by an enemy or of the division of his country is the happiest of all

With a heavy heart, the old monkey left all of them. A few days later, the wily goat entered the royal kuchen again. The cook, finding nothing else handy, took out a piece of burning wood from the fire and hurled it at the goat. His fur ablaze, the goat panicked and ran into the stable where the haystacks caught fire. Many horses died in the fire, while others were burnt. The expert veterinarians advised the king to use monkey fat for healing the burns.

The king ordered that all the monkeys be killed and their fat used to heal the horses' burns. The old monkey was distressed by the devastation of his tribe. He started planning his revenge. Wandering restlessly in the forest, the old monkey saw a beautiful lake full of lotuses. On closer inspection, the monkey foun footprints of animals and human beings entering the lake. The interesting thing was that there were no footprints leaving the lake.

The monkey immediately realized there was a wicked creature in the lake who was probably cat ing those who entered the lake. He pushed a lotus stem into the water and drank, Promptly, a monster emerged from the lake with an enormously long pearl necklace around his neck. "The monster spoke to the monkey.

"You seem to be more intelligent than the others,

You drank the water but did not enter the lake. You have impressed me. Ask for anything you want! 'Sir, how many lives can you take in one try?" the monkey asked.

'I can swallow tens, hundreds and thousands at one time,' said the monster, proudly. But, only if they enter the lake. Outside the water, even a jackal can challenge me.

'I have a grudge against the king,' said the mon- key. 'Lend me the pearl necklace you're wearing and I will bring the king and all his men straight to you. I'll somehow persuade the king and his men to enter the lake to seek hidden wealth. Then, you can kill all of them.

The monster knew the monkey was being hon- est and gave him the pearl necklace. The monkey reached the king's palace. The people saw the glit- reting necklace and asked him where he got it from. The monkey told them about the lake. When news of this reached the king's ears, he sent for the monkey and asked him about it.

The monkey told him everything about the lake. The monkey led the king and his family, ministers and followers to the lake. The monkey held the king back, saying it would be better, if all his men entered the lake at the same time, at dawn.

"My lord,' he said, 'I will take only you to another spot where you will find the best pearl necklaces among this collection.'

The king agreed. Thus, all the king's men entered the lake at the same time and were killed by the monster. When nobody emerged from the lake for a long time, the king became suspicious. Where are my men? Why the delay in their com ing back?" he asked. The monkey immediately sprang onto the top of a tree.

O king, he called out, 'the monster in the lake has killed all your people. Remember, you killed الد my people. This is my revenge for what you did. First you fed us, then you killed us."

The third Brahmin concluded the story by saying that blind greed could only lead to one's downfall He then asked the fourth Brahmin for permission to leave.

'It is not important to desert a friend in distress, said his sad friend.

"What you say is true, but listen to the wise men, replied the Brahmin, 'I have no desire to repent later. like you. The learned have said that. "Those who are nor united will die like the great bird, which had two heads on a single torso, but ate different fruit." The fourth Brahmin wanted to hear this story, too.