Loss Of friend

THE ELEPHANT AND THE SPARROW

Two sparrows-husband and wife-built a nest on a banyan tree. Soon the female sparrow laid eggs in the nest. One afternoon, a wild elephant came by, seeking shelter from the blazing sun. Overcome by the heat, the elephant suddenly went out of control and snapped a big branch of the tree, crushing the sparrow's eggs in the nest. The sparrows managed to escape. But the female sparrow began to cry for her eggs.

A woodpecker, a close friend of the sparrows, heard her cry and was moved by her grief.

'Why are you crying, my friend?' he asked. 'Wise people do not grieve what is lost or what is dead or what is past. That's the difference between a learned person and an illiterate.

"The wicked elephant has destroyed my eggs, said the female sparrow. 'If you are my true friend. then give me a suggestion to kill him. In my view, he who harms a person in trouble or he who ridicules a person in sorrow deserves to be punished. And he who punishes such a person goes to heaven.'

'What you say is right,' said the woodpecker. Everyone tries to be friendly when you are prosper- ing. However, one who comes to your aid when you are in need is a true friend. You'll see how resourceful I am. A fly is my friend. With his help, we can kill the elephant.

Then, the female sparrow and the woodpecker went to meet the fly.

"This is my dearest friend, the woodpecker said to the fly. "We need your help. A wild elephant squashed her eggs. You must somehow find a way to kill that elephant.'

'A frog is my friend,' said the fly. 'Let's go to him and seek his help, also.'

The female sparrow, the woodpecker and the fly went to the frog and narrated the story of the sparrow's grief.

What is an elephant before a united group like ours?" the frog remarked. "Do as I tell you. Fly, you go towards the elephant when the sun is high in the sky and hum a sweet tune into his ears. When he starts enjoying your song and closes his eyes, the woodpecker will scoop his eyes out. Now he will become blind. Since it would be very hot at that time of the day, he would feel thirsty and would look for water. In the meantime, I'll go to the quicksand and begin croaking there. Thinking that there is water, the elephant will come there and sink into the quicksand and die.'

All the four played out their roles according to the frog's plan and caused the death of the elephant.

At the end of the story, the female pheasant said to her husband, "That is how the four friends worked together and killed the mighty elephant.'

The husband was impressed by his wife's wisdom.

'All right,' he said. "We'll call our friends and with their help crush the sea.

As their friends, the cranes, the peacocks, the cuckoos and other birds, gathered, the male pheasant told them the story of how the sea had washed away their eggs and how necessary it was to drain it out.

At the end, he said, 'We cannot do this job our- selves. Let's go to Garuda, Lord Vishnu's vehicle, and tell him all that has happened. He'll be angry over what the sea has done to his species. He'll surely take revenge on the sea.'

Wailing and weeping, all the birds went to meet Garuda.

O lord, we need your help! they pleaded. "The sea has destroyed the sparrow's eggs. This is a blow to the entire bird community. If you do not intervene, he will destroy our entire tribe. Wise men have said that one wicked person is an inspiration to all others with evil intentions.'

Moved by their story of grief, Garuda thought to himself, 'These birds are truly troubled. I will go and punish the sea. Meanwhile, a messenger from Lord Vishnu came and told Garuda that the Lord wanted to travel to Amravati on a divine mission. The messenger asked Garuda to accompany him at once.

'No, I cannot come, said Garuda. I'm not his servant. Let him take someone else!"

O Garuda, you have never uttered such words about the Lord!' exclaimed the surprised messenger "Tell me, did the Lord annoy you in any manner?

'The sea, where the Lord lives, has swallowed the eggs of the pheasant,' said Garuda. "If the Lord does not punish the sea for this, I shall not serve him. This is my decision and you may convey this to him."

The messenger conveyed Garuda's feelings to Vishnu.

Garuda has a valid reason to be annoyed with me,' said Vishnu. I shall go myself and receive him with respect. If the king is satisfied he can give only money. But when the master honours his servant, the servant is ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of the master. Therefore, it is wise that I should visit and appease him."

When Vishnu arrived to meet him, Garuda felt guilty that he had uttered such harsh words about the Lord.

'O Lord," he said, 'the sea that enjoys your protection has stolen the eggs of a member of my clan and thus insulted me. I respect you, my lord; therefore, I delayed taking any strict action against him."

"True! Learned men say that a master is responsible for the misdeeds of his servants,' said Lord Vishnu. Such misdeeds hurt the master more than the servant. Come with me. I shall recover those eggs from the sea and make the pheasants happy again. Only then will we go to Amravati.'

The Lord then took out his thunderbolt and aim- ing it at the sea warned him, "You wicked sea! Return the eggs to the pheasants. Otherwise, I will turn you into a desert!'

Frightened, the sea returned the eggs to the pheasants.

'From this story,' Damanaka said to Sanjeevaka, 'it is evident that he who challenges an enemy without knowing his strength perishes in the end.

'True, but how do I know that Pingalaka has evil designs on me?' asked Sanjeevaka. 'We have been very friendly. That makes it difficult for me to think of killing him.'

'If he stares at you in anger tomorrow, he has evil thoughts in his mind, Damanaka said. 'Otherwise, you may safely think he's the same old affectionate friend. But if you decide to leave the place, do it after sunset. Our elders have said that one must sacrifice an individual for the good of the community. We must give up caste for the good of the village and surrender a village for the good of the country. It is desirable to save money so that one can make use of it during a crisis. A wise man spends money to save his wife and gives up both his wealth and wife to save himself.

After he gave this advice to Sanjeevaka, Damanaka went to see Karataka.

What happened to your mission?" asked Karataka. 'I have just finished sowing the seeds of discord between the two friends,' said Damanaka. "The rest is in the hands of God.'

'How did you do it?'

'I carried tales from one to the other and succeeded in dividing the friends. You will not see them together again."

"Oh, you haven't done right. You have separated two good friends. You've made them hate each other. It is a wicked person who knows only to break up relationships rather than mending broken ones. You don't understand the art of politics. However strong you might be, unless you kill either an enemy or a disease at the very outset, they will kill you in the end. I won the king's assurance for Sanjeevaka and brought him to the royal court. Today, he has ousted us from our office. He created distance between the king and us and so he's our enemy. That's why I have plans to kill him. If he wants to save himself, he should leave this place. Wise people, like the jackal, do not hesitate to torment others to achieve their goal. Fools like the lion, cannot enjoy even what they have won.

On Karataka's request, Damanaka began telling the story of the lion and the jackal.