Stories from Hithopadhesha

The Greedy Jackal

Once a hunter went deep into the Vindhya forest in search of a deer. Soon he caught sight of a deer and killed it with an arrow. On his return, with the deer over his shoulders, he saw a huge boar charging at him. He put the deer down and shot the boar. The boar screaming in pain bit the hunter in the groin. The hunter fell down dead. A hungry jackal happened to pass that way. Seeing the boar, deer and the hunter, it realized that a nice and big feast awaited it.

The jackal pondered about whom to eat first.. Just then it saw the hunter's bow lying next to him. It thought that bow looked like it was made of sheep gut, which it can chew for sometime. Thus thinking, the jackal bit the string of the bow, which snapped suddenly. The sharp end of the bow pierced the jackal causing its death.

Moral: Be satisfied with what you have