|| An Indian Folktale ||
Once upon a time a lion got a bone stuck in his throat. As much as he tried, he could not get it out at all. As he winced in pain, a crane noticed the lion’s pain and asked, “What is it that is bothering you, O mighty lion?”
The lion explained, “O friend Crane, there is a sharp bone stuck in my throat that is causing great pain and I am unable to get it out. Can you help me?”
The crane replied, “I can, but you might fill your stomach with me, O lion! I can’t trust you”
“Never, ever! In all world and all time. I shall be most grateful and not harm you”, begged the lion offering many promises.
The crane, anyway, decided to be cautious. So he took a stout, short stick and inserted it vertically between the lion’s jaws, so the lion could not close his mouth.
Then the crane put his head into the lion’s mouth and picked the bone that was causing the pain. In the end, the clever crane pulled out the stick too, in a swift action. Once it was done, the crane safely flew up to the branch of a nearby tree.
The lion walked away without any comment. In due course, he got better.
After many days, the crane sees the lion again. The lion had just hunted a wild buffalo and was enjoying a feast.
The crane had a twinge of annoyance that the lion walked away without as much as a mutter of thanks after the crane took great risk and helped a mortal enemy.
So he perches on a nearby tree and calls out, “O lion, I see you are well now. How would you thank me?”
The lion replied, ” O Crane, you must be thankful for your life, seeing as you are still alive, having once been in the mouth of a live and powerful lion “
The crane replied, ” If we can’t win someone’s friendship even through goodness, it is better to stay away from such people” and flew away without a second thought.
The enlightened one, narrating this story to his disciples, reveals that at that time the lion was Devadatta the traitor and he himself was the crane.
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