Reading Notes: Elephant Stories (Monday)

Two Asian elephants in Tamil Nadu, India.

Photograph by Mohan Raj (2010)

The Greedy Forester

1. The white elephant’s sensitivity will likely come in handy. He may even wind up saving his elephant brethren, despite the latter’s cruelty.
2. The white elephant is completely selfless. He only seems to want to help others.
3. This story is somewhat like The Giving Tree. While the forester does get what he wants in the beginning, his exploitation of the elephant eventually gets him nothing. In fact, he’s punished for this exploitation.

The Brave Quail

1. This story is incredibly violent. First, a baby bird’s head is trampled off by an elephant. Then, a crow pecks out the eyes of that elephant. Then, an ant lays its eggs in the empty eye sockets of the elephant.
2. I guess the elephant got exactly what is deserved.

The Royal Elephant

1. The elephant shows loyalty in every circumstance. He also risks his own life for the sake of the kingdom and for his prince. For this, he’s respected by everyone.

Bibliography

Elephant Stories. Amar Chitra Katha, v. 554.

Portfolio Introduction

In my portfolio, I intend to have stories that share a common theme, such as sacrifice or duty. In stories such as the Ramayana, these concepts are considered important to the cohesion of society. Those who have sacrificed themselves or who have followed their duty are praised, while those who are greedy are presented in a negative light.

Index

The Celestial Weapons
After they help Rama fight a horde of rakshasas, some of the celestial weapons feel as though the prince hasn't given them the credit they are due.

Hanuman and the Curse
After the events of the Ramayana, Hanuman gets himself into all kinds of trouble.

The Elephant and the Dog
An elephant and a dog become best friends but are torn apart by war.

The Tortoise and the Heron
A tortoise promises to save his subjects from an impending drought.

Story: The Bear and the Bees

A beehive hanging off of a tree branch in India.

Photograph by Muhammad Mahdi Karim (2012).

One day, a bear was walking in the jungle when he encountered a cat. The cat was trying to climb a tree in order to reach a beehive which hung on the highest branch. Every few seconds, a bee would swoop down and sting the cat. At this, the cat would fall back down. Even after a dozen stings, the cat still tried to climb the tree.

So distracted was the cat by her activity that she didn’t even notice the bear approaching her. The bear was rather bored and decided to play with this cat. He took his great paw and swiped at the cat. This certainly got the feline’s attention.

The cat yelped and shouted at the bear, “What are you doing? Trying to kill me?”

“No,” the bear replied, “I was only trying to play. I’m so bored and there’s nothing else to do.”

“Bored, eh?” The cat began to think of a plan by which to get the honey in that beehive. She didn’t think much of the bear’s intelligence and assumed he would do anything he was told. “I know something you can do,” the cat said.

“What is it?” asked the bear.

“You can climb this tree and get the beehive for me.”

“Why do you want to get the beehive?”

“It’s filled with a sweet golden goo.”

“That sounds tasty,” the bear said, licking his lips.

“It certainly is.”

“Can I have some if I help you get it down?”

The cat hadn’t expected this, but half of the honey was better than nothing at all. “Alright,” she said. “We’ll split the honey once you knock it off the tree.”

The bear started to climb and soon reached the top branch. The bees by then had lost all of their soldiers. Only the queen, her advisors, and the workers remained. When the bear started crawling across the branch in order to reach the beehive, he heard a tiny buzzing in his ear. He swatted by his ear but the buzzing resumed soon after. This buzzing almost sounded like speech. He listened more closely and could actually make out something.

“Bear, you must help us!”

Befuddled, the bear asked, “Who’s talking?”

“I am the queen of this hive. We are in dire straits. We have lost all of our soldiers and our hive is completely defenseless.”

“What would you have me do about it? I am only a bear.”

“You can guard us from other animals. You are big and strong and no animal would dare challenge you.”

“What about the cat? She asked me to knock your hive down so that she and I could split the honey inside.”

“If you do that, you will only get honey once. If you defend us, we will give you honey every day.”

“Will I get more honey that way?”

“Yes, you will, in the long run.”

At this point, the cat had grown impatient. She yelled, “What’s going on up there?”

“Nothing,” the bear replied. “I’m almost there.”

The queen bee said to the bear, “First, we need you to scare off the cat. She will probably take the hive for herself while you’re still in the tree.”

“I don’t think so. She seems trustworthy to me.”

“She’s not trustworthy at all,” replied the queen bee. The royal advisors, who had gathered around her, agreed with this statement.  

The bear wasn’t so convinced. In fact, he was rather angered by this statement. He took his great paw and swiped at the hive. It was now hanging by a thread. He swiped again and the whole thing came crashing down.

“Oh no,” the bear cried. “What have I done?”

The cat said to him, “You’ve gotten me a great deal of honey!” With that, the feline took the hive in her mouth and ran off.

The bear knew he should have listened to the queen bee. Had he been more patient and level-headed, he could have gotten honey everyday. Now, he had nothing at all.

Author’s Note

I didn’t have a specific story in mind when I was writing this. It’s in the style of the Fables of Bidpai. That is, the characters are all animals and a moral lesson is provided at the very end. Of course, there’s a trickster character who misleads the protagonist, the bear. I considered having the bear act as a defender of the bees for some time before realizing he could have the honey all at once. However, this story seems to work better in that the bear doesn’t come to this realization but rather is tricked into knocking the beehive down. Either way, he learns a lesson about patience and not acting rashly. I may add a frame story in order to make the moral more clear.

Bibliography

Maude Dutton. The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai. 1908.

Reading Notes: The Priceless Gem (Tuesday)

A collection of pots at a marketplace in Jaipur, India.

Photograph by McKay Savage (2007).

1. This story is a lot like other Indian stories, in that the heroes are born with signs of holiness. Heroes rarely come from the lower castes.
2. The pandits will likely make themselves look ridiculous, rather than wise, in trying to impress the king.
3. The court pandit Senaka doesn’t heed Aushadha Kumar so he’ll probably wind up looking bad.
4. Because Pinguttar, the former student, doesn’t obey tradition’s dictates, he will likely come to an unfortunate end, or at least be punished. His disrespected wife will probably come into good circumstances, such as riches.
5. The king has quite the overreaction. He wants to behead his wife because he thinks she still has feelings for her ex-husband. What kind of king is this? Who would want to be ruled by someone so rash?
6. Most of the king’s pandits only want to ingratiate themselves before him. Aushadha doesn’t and is rewarded for it.
7. This king, Vaideha, is really quick-tempered. It takes days for him and the advice of his wife for him to consider Aushadha’s side.
8. Deception has gotten the pandit Senaka nowhere. Is he destined to always be a scoundrel until the end of his days?
9. Despite Senaka’s attempt to murder Aushadha, the latter forgives the former. Mercy and forgiveness are important traits for rulers and advisers.
10. Senaka isn’t destined for eternal schemes, apparently. He appreciates Aushadha’s freeing him from slavery.

Bibliography

Yagya Sharma. “The Priceless Gem.” Amar Chitra Katha, vol. 672.

Reading Notes: Nandivishala (Monday)

A zebu in northern India

Photograph by Pavanaja (2014).

Nandi Vishala

1. The brahman begins to not appreciate what the bull has done for him.
2. Remembering past assistance is always an important trait.
3. Without that, one is likely to come into bad circumstances.

The Servant and the Treasure

1. Why would Nanda become arrogant and angry with his former master’s son?
2. Nanda only becomes docile when he loses any chance of the money.
3. Despite his greed, Nanda doesn’t try to take the money for himself.

The Hypocritical Sadhu

1. This is a rather odd story, in that the supposed wiseman engages in deception in order to get money.
2. The zamindar listens to a friend and is rewarded for it.
3. Like Aushadha, the zamindar lets his enemy go with only a moral lesson.

What’s in a Name?

1. I wonder how Lowly was treated or talked about by the other students.
2. It would be interesting to see how Lowly was treated because of his name.
3. A name may be only a way to say who’s who, but do the other students think this?

The Most Virtuous Student

1. This seems like a really roundabout way to teach students not to steal.
2. How would this story have gone if the teacher really did want the students to steal?
3. Trickery isn’t necessarily bad. It’s often used to teach people lessons or to learn the truth.  

Bibliography

Kamla Chandrakant. “Nandivishala.” Amar Chitra Katha, vol. 619

Reading Notes: The Brahmin and the Goat (ACK)

Bas relief of elephants on the “Descent of the Ganges” monument in Mahabalipuram, India

Photo taken by Bernard Gagnon (2006)

The Brahmin and the Goat

The story of the Brahmin and the goat is surprising in that it shows even A brahmin can be tricked. He doesn’t trust his own reason and so loses something valuable.

The King Elephant and the Mice

Although the king elephant doesn’t think much of the elephants, he overcomes this and accepts their deal. By being kind to seemingly insignificant creatures, the elephants are saved.

The Brahman, the Thief, and the Rakshasa

The moral of the story could also have been: Those who don’t work together may get wind up getting nothing at all.

The Lion, the Jackal, and the Cave

The lion becomes too desperate for a meal. He isn’t the most clever creature.

The Mouse and the Sage

People shouldn’t be barred from following their destiny. This is perhaps the oddest story in this book.

The Bird Who Shed Golden Droppings

The king is punished for being so trusting to others’ beliefs. This is like the first story, “The Brahmin and the Goat.” Someone suffers because they took more stock in others’ statements than their own beliefs.

Bibliography

Shyamala Kutty. The Brahmin and the Goat: Tales from the Panchatantra. Amar Chitra Katha.

The Tortoise and the Heron

An Indian pond heron. Photography by J.M Garg (2007).

Many, many years ago, there was a great big pond in the middle of a jungle. This pond was fed by a wide stream which swept down from the mountains. It bubbled and gurgled all day, providing a never-ending source of freshwater. The land around the pond was remarkably fertile and all kinds of things were able to grow in that little shaded pond.

Of all those animals which lived in the pond, the oldest and most-revered of them was the tortoise. He had been there far longer than anyone else. In fact, he had been there so long that he couldn’t remember when he had first come across the pond. He might have always lived here, but he couldn't say for sure. So wise did he seem to the other animals that they treated him as a god-king. They thought he could commune with the other gods and ask for favors. All they had to do for him was bring him enough food each day.

During one particularly hot summer, the stream which fed this pond started to dwindle. After a few weeks, the stream dried up completely and all that could be seen was the rocky bed. Pretty soon, the pond itself began to dry up. All of the animals were frightened. Of those animals which lived in the water, the fishes were the most frightened. They cried out to the tortoise, expecting him to have some wise plan. Surely he had seen days such as this, when there wasn’t enough rain to sustain the pond. Perhaps he knew how to bring the water back. Perhaps he could call upon the gods and ask them for more rain.

“Oh, wise tortoise!” the fish cried. “Why has the stream dried up? Please help restore it! If you don’t, we are sure to die.”

The tortoise thought that he could only restore the pond if he had his strength up. He cleared his ancient throat and said to the fish, “It has dried up because not enough of you have brought me the choicest plants. Go forth! Bring back the best herbage and I shall restore our pond.”

All of the little animals, not just the fish, helped find the choicest plants for their tortoise. When they brought the herbage back, he made quick work of it. He then told them to bring back some ripe, juicy berries. They did this and he ate the fruit even more quickly than he did the plants. He continued to demand even more food. The animals did as he said. Eventually, the tortoise ate everything that hadn’t dried up for lack of water.

The tortoise still demanded food, but those few remaining animals (so many having perished of hunger) told him there was nothing left. Given these circumstances, he decided now would be the best time to perform his rituals. He called for all of the pond’s inhabitants to gather at his part of the pond. Among those animals who attended were bush frogs, newts, caecilians, eels, and halfbeaks.

He performed several rituals in order to restore the pond, but nothing worked. No matter how fervently he performed these rituals, no rain came down, the pond remained low, and the stream stayed dry. He soon realized how powerless he was.

One day, while the tortoise sat despairing on his log, a heron appeared at the pond. She asked him what was wrong.

"I have tried to restore this pond and the stream which fed it, but nothing has worked. There's nothing for us to eat and my subjects are dwindling to nothing."

"I suspected as much when I flew over," the heron said. "I could help you and your subjects."

"How?"

"I know of another pond not too far from here," said the heron.

“Really?”

“I could take you and your subjects there. You would only have to climb in my beak.”

“How can I be sure you won’t eat all of us?”

“Why would I do that? I have seen how desperate you and your subjects are, so I must help you. It is my duty as your fellow animal.”

The tortoise agreed, but on the condition that he would stay behind until the last animal had been moved. He would help coordinate this exodus.

The tortoise gathered all of the animals and told them what was to be done. They were concerned at first about the heron eating them, but he told them of that bird's promise. The next day, all of the halfbeaks gathered in little groups, as did the frogs, the newts, the eels, and all of the other pond animals.

Once the animals had gathered together, the crane picked each group up one by one. But the heron had no intention of saving them. After picking up the fish and flying out of the sight of the old pond, she gulped them down. She flew back and forth several times, swallowing the fish each time, before it was the tortoise’s turn.

As the heron flew off towards “the new pond,” the tortoise looked down and saw all of the brilliant white fish bones scattered in the fields. He cried out and the heron tried to gulp him up. Unfortunately for the heron, the tortoise was too big to swallow in one gulp. The bird then tried to get the tortoise out of her mouth, but he bit her tongue and held on tight. Hoping the tortoise would get out if she landed, the heron stopped by a small pond. But before the tortoise left, he made sure to bite off the heron’s tongue.

“Both you and I have uttered untruths and have caused the deaths of many animals. Of that, we are both guilty. But while I thought I was helping, you only thought of our belly. You deceived us. For that, you are to be cursed for the rest of your days." With this, the tortoise snapped off the heron's tongue. "No longer will you have a tongue with which to deceive others!”

The tortoise climbed into the new pond and swam away. The heron flew off, angry with herself that she had been so thoroughly deceitful to the tortoise and the fish.

Author’s Note

This story is a combination of two folk tales from Dutton’s Fables of Bidpai: “The Tortoise and the Geese” and “The Crane and the Crab.” However, most of the story is derived from the "The Crane and the Crab," in that this story involves a bird taking another animal to "safety." In addition, the animal being carried sees evidence of the bird's deceitfulness and managed to escape. In "The Tortoise and the Geese," the creature being carried eventually becomes angry with the bird and drops to the earth. Rather than killing the tortoise, I thought it would be better if I let him redeem himself and teach a lesson to the heron. While the tortoise does deceive his subjects in a way, he does so unwittingly. He truly does think himself a sort of god-king who can bring back the water by performing rituals. The heron, on the other hand, knows full well that she is deceiving the creatures. While the tortoise has lost his friends for his deception, he is otherwise unscathed. The heron, on the other hand, must go through life with a physical sign of her deception.

Bibliography

Maude Dutton. The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai (1908).

Wikipedia. “List of fishes of India.”

World Atlas. “Native Amphibians of India.”