Reading Diary B - Jataka Tales (Babbitt)

Jataka Tales (Babbitt)

The Cunning Wolf
Once upon a time the people in a certain town went out into the woods for a holiday. They took baskets full of good things to eat. But when noontime came they ate all the meat they had brought with them, not leaving any for supper.

"I will get some fresh meat. We will make a fire here and roast it," said one of the men.

So, taking a club, he went to the lake where the animals came to drink. He lay down, club in hand, pretending to be dead. When the animals came down to the lake they saw the man lying there and they watched him for some time.

"That man is playing a trick on us, I believe," said the King of the Wolves. "The rest of you stay here while I will see whether he is really dead, or whether he is pretending to be dead."

Then the cunning King of the Wolves crept up to the man and slyly pulled at his club. At once the man pulled back on his club.

Then the King of the Wolves ran off saying: "If you had been dead, you would not have pulled back on your club when I tried to pull it away. I see your trick. You pretend you are dead so that you may kill one of us for your supper."

The man jumped up and threw his club at the King of the Wolves. But he missed his aim. He looked for the other animals but there was not one in sight. They had all run away.

Then the man went back to his friends, saying: "I tried to get fresh meat by playing a trick on the animals, but the cunning Wolf played a better trick on me, and I could not get one of them."

Thoughts

A wolf that's not bad! What a surprise! Ha nah I never think they are bad but they are mostly perceived as malicious in these types of tales but not in this story. Smart pup the wolf was. The man seemed like the fool from the get go. It was also a heroic witty deed the wolf pulled off, helping himself and his fellow forest mates.

The Foolhardy Wolf
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."

Thoughts

Again, the lion and the wolf are my besties, and I love their tales. This is perhaps my favorite story now. Both wolf and lion become great. I especially love this:

'Great Lion, come forth in thy might. Food is in sight.'

This would be like my hype line if I was the lion, as soon as I hear this I'm ready to go. The lion is so dope that he doesn't even blush to the words 'thy might' because he knows he is mighty. For some reason the story reminds me of a talk I had with my little brothers who are also athletes like me. I told them 

"Do not be impressed by people that might be your peers. Idolizing is for little boys. You can appreciate talent but do not idolize."

I'm using this more vibrant version of a classical painting of Aeneas Turnus as a personification of an the wolf (man personifying animal? Ironic I know) being crushed by the elephant.