Once upon a time there lived a washer-man in a village that stood at the edge of a forest. He had a donkey to transport his wash to and from a nearby river. The washer-man never fed the donkey with care though he had to carry heavy loads. So, the donkey was very lean and weak.
By day, the donkey had to work for the washer-man. But at night he was left free to go and graze where he liked.
One day the donkey chanced to meet a jackal who also roamed in search of food by night. Greetings were exchanged and friendship started between them. In a few days, they become very fast friends.
One night both the friends were roaming in search of food. Suddenly they came by a field of melons. Both of them ate melons to their fill and came back. This went on for couple of months. The owner of the field was surprised to see who had destroyed the crop after all. He stood guard all the day long but could not catch anyone as no one had come there.
Having fed on melons for several nights, the donkey became fat and healthy. Now he could do his day’s work quite easily indeed.
One moonlit night, donkey was feeling very happy. Having eaten melons to his heart’s content, the donkey said to the jackal, “Friend ! I feel like singing today.”
The jackal felt frightened to hear this. He said to the donkey, “Dear Brother! God has given us a good treasure of food. We have already enjoyed it for a large number of days. See, how healthy and hefty we both have become! So, we must not do anything that should bring in danger for us as also make us lose our treasure of food. Till now, nobody has been able to spot us eating melons. But if you sing loudly, the owner of the field is sure to catch us and set us right. So, I request you to desist from singing. You may do so when we are away from this place.”
But the donkey was not going to hear anything. He was feeling like singing a song. So, he turned down the jackal’s suggestion saying, “I think you have no ear for music at all. But my case is different. I am very fond of not only hearing music but also singing myself whenever I feel like doing so.”
When the jackal saw that the donkey was not going to listen to his advice, he said, “OK, let me go away. Then you can do whatever you like”. Saying so, the jackal rushed out of the field and hid behind a nearby tree.
But before going away, the jackal once again advised the donkey, “Try to understand what I say. We are thieves and thieves should never make a noise. They should do their job quite silently and secretly. Moreover, your voice is very coarse and irritating. It shall rouse the owner of the field and he will either kill us or tie us with strong ropes and beat us black and blue. So, enjoy the melons and be away quietly.”
But the foolish donkey didn’t heed the advice of the jackal. Rather he felt irritated when the jackal styled his voice as coarse. So, he rebuked the jackal calling him wild and uncivilized.
Then the donkey began to bray aloud. Hearing his voice, the owner of the field got up. Taking his men with him, he ran towards the field.
All of them began to hit the donkey with the clubs that they had brought with them. Having given the donkey a sound thrashing, they tied a heavy log to his neck. It hung up to his knees. So, when he walked, it hit his legs hard.
Now the silly donkey realized his blunder and repented of it. When the donkey was kicked out of the field and had gone over some distance towards his master’s house, the jackal came out of his hiding and said, “Well ! My Friend, you have been given a very good award for your sweet voice, I think.”
The donkey was so ashamed that he could not say anything. Not only this, his entire body was aching because of the merciless beating. So, he slowly moved towards his master’s house with trembling legs. He felt so weak and done up that as soon as he reached his master’s house he staggered hard and fell down. The bruises over his entire body betrayed all that had happened. It took him weeks together to be all right again.
Moral of the Story: “NEVER ACT FOOLISHLY”! It encourages careful consideration and thoughtful actions to prevent negative consequences.
