The Foolhardy Wolf [More Jataka Tales]
A LION bounded forth from his lair one day, looking north, west, south, and
east. He saw a Buffalo and went to kill him.
The Lion ate all of the Buffalo-meat he wanted, and then went down to the lake for a drink.
As the Lion turned
to go toward his den for a nap, he came upon a hungry Wolf.
The Wolf had no
chance to get away, so he threw himself at the Lion's feet.
"What do you
want?" the Lion asked.
"O Lion, let
me be your servant," said the Wolf.
"Very
well," said the Lion, "serve me, and you shall have good food to
eat."
So saying, the Lion
went into his den for his nap.
When he woke up,
the Lion said to the Wolf: "Each day you must go to the mountain top, and
see whether there are any elephants, or ponies, or buffaloes about. If you see
any, come to me and say: 'Great Lion, come forth in thy might. Food is in
sight.' Then I will kill and eat, and give part of the meat to you."
So day after day
the Wolf climbed to the mountain top, and seeing a pony, or a buffalo, or an
elephant, he went back to the den, and falling at the Lion's feet he said:
"Great Lion, come forth in thy might. Food is in sight."
Then the Lion would
bound forth and kill whichever beast it was, sharing the meat with the Wolf.
Now this Wolf had
never had such fine meat to eat, nor so much. So as time went on, the Wolf grew
bigger and bigger, and stronger and stronger, until he was really proud of his
great size and strength.
"See how big
and strong I am," he said to himself. "Why am I living day after day
on food given me by another? I will kill for my own eating. I'll kill an
elephant for myself."
So the Wolf went to
the Lion, and said: "I want to eat an elephant of my own killing. Will you
let me lie in your corner in the den, while you climb the mountain to look out
for an elephant? Then when you see one, you come to the den and say, 'Great
Wolf, come forth in thy might. Food is in sight.' Then I will kill the
elephant."
Said the Lion:
"Wolf, only Lions can kill elephants. The world has never seen a Wolf that
could kill an elephant. Give up this notion of yours, and eat what I
kill."
But no matter what
the Lion said, the Wolf would not give way. So at last the Lion said:
"Well, have your own way. Lie down in the den, and I will climb to the top
of the mountain."
When he saw an
elephant the Lion went back to the mouth of the cave, and said: "Great
Wolf, come forth in thy might. Food is in sight."
Then from the den
the Wolf nimbly bounded forth, ran to where the elephant was, and, howling
three times, he sprang at the elephant.
But the Wolf missed
his aim, and fell down at the elephant's feet. The elephant raised his right
foot and killed the Wolf.
Seeing all this,
the Lion said, "You will no more come forth in your might, you foolhardy
Wolf."
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