In a far away village, there lived a potter. One day he was taking out baked pots from his kiln. Suddenly a pitcher slipped from his hand and broke into pieces. Some piece had very pointed corners.
Unluckily after some time, the potter stumbled and fell down face-long. A pointed piece of the broken pitcher dug into his forehead. As a result, a deep wound was caused and blood gushed out of it.
It took months for the wound to heal up. But it left a big scar on the forehead of the potter. Years rolled by and the potter remained busy with his job of making pots. Whenever he looked at his face in a mirror, the scar made him uneasy. He felt very sad to see that it had made his face quite ugly to look at. But it is all the for the best, they say. Now, as ill luck would have it, there was a drought in the area which resulted in a famine. The potter had to leave his village and go to a distant town along with his family. It was the capital of a kingdom. He went from door to door in search of a job. At long last he got a job in the royal court.
One day the king happened to see the potter who had quite a hefty body. The king chanced to catch sight of the scar on his forehead and mistook him to be a Rajput warrior. He appointed him as the guard of his personal apartment. Seeing the king showering graces on the potter, the old warriors in the royal service felt Jealous of him. Now the potter thanked God for the scar on his body as it had pushed him into the king’s favour.
Time rolled on and a few years passed without any happening. But one day, the spies of the king brought news that a neighbouring ruler was going to attack the king.
So, the king ordered his general to make preparations for facing the enemy in a befitting manner. Selected warriors were chosen to form a death-squad to take the enemy by surprise even before they were able to lead an attack.
As the potter was in the good books of the king, he was also called for an interview. When asked about his previous record, it came to be discovered that he was a potter. He had no past record of showing any bravery in any battle. The secret behind the scar on his forehead also came to be out.
The king felt shocked to know the reality about his favourite man. So, he asked him to leave the service and go back to his village as soon as possible.
The potter requested the king to give him a chance to show his courage and bravery on the field of battle. But the king didn’t agree. He said, “You may claim that you will be as courageous and lionhearted like a warrior in the battle, but be assure that you will never be that skillful. Because neither you nor your ancestors have fought battles.”
The king related the story of a jackal in support of his view as under:
Once in a dense forest there lived a lion. His wife bore two beautiful cubs. Naturally, she had to stay in the den for some days while the lion himself went out hunting. One day, the lion kept roaming in search of prey till sunset but he could not find any.
Disappointed and tired, the lion set out for his den. On the way, he found a new-born jackal-baby lying by the way-side. He held it in his mouth and brought it alive to his den.
Reaching his den, the lion said to the lioness, “I could not find any prey today. While coming home, I saw this baby-jackal lying by the wayside. So, I have brought it alive for you. Eat its soft flesh and pacify your hunger.”
The lioness was a mother after all. And she had given birth to two cubs only a few days before. So, she said, “Darling ! You haven’t killed this tiny creature out of pity. Why should I commit this sin? I shall not eat it. On the other hand, I shall bring it up as my third cub.”
The lion said, “Darling! You may bring it up as a son, but it will never become a lion-cub. Because blood tells itself one day, they say.”
But the lioness didn’t heed the words of the lion. She used to suckle the jackal-baby along with her cubs. The cubs, innocent as they were, considered the jackal to be their brother. All the three played and frisked about together.
Days rolled by and about a year passed. The lion-cubs and the jackal-cub grew up considerably. They now started to go away from the den and kill small animals too.
One day the three cubs chanced to went into the deep forest. Suddenly an elephant appeared before them. They were surprised to see his huge body with a long trunk.
As for the lion-cubs, they got ready to attack the elephant. By virtue of their blood, they were not afraid to do so. But the jackal at once shouted, “Hush! Don’t go near this huge animal, otherwise you will be killed. Saying so, he took to his heels. Seeing their brother turning tail, the lion-cubs too followed suit.
Reaching the den, the lion-cubs complained to their father about the cowardice of their brother. Hearing the complaint, the jackal flared up and began to rebuke the lion-cubs. He never knew the reality about himself. He thought himself to be just equal to the lion cubs. Seeing this, the lioness took the jackal to one side and advised him not to be angry with his brothers. But the jackal would not hear. He said,” Mother ! You are siding with them as if l am not your son.”
The lioness told the jackal the entire story of his birth and upbringing. Knowing the reality about himself, the jackal turned pale. The cubs who were just his brothers till some time before, looked like his murderers now to the poor jackal.
So, the jackal lost no time to say good-bye to his foster-parents and brothers and ran for his life as fast as his legs could carry him.
Having told this story, the king said to the potter, “Leave this place at once. If the Rajput warriors come to know of your reality, they will surely make short work of you for acting as an imposter.”
