A poor peasant had a mouse and an Ichneumon as his pets. One day his friend fell sick and was advised by the doctor to eat husked sesame. The peasant asked his wife to dry some sesame.
The ichneumon saw the sesame being dried and put some inside his hole to eat. When he came back to collect some more, saw the peasant’s wife safeguarding them. He ideated to put what he held back and cunningly he told the mouse that he could too freely eat sesame like himself. When the mouse attempted to eat some, he was pounced upon by the wife and was killed.
The Sultan was impressed by the story and desired to know if there was any story where a person had rescued a friend from destruction. And then the story of the mongoose was narrated to the Sultan.
The mongoose was kept by the daughter of the bridegroom, to clear her house of vermin. The ancient Egyptian kings worshipped mongooses and had them mummified as they killed snakes and were highly domesticated.
