A tiger was sitting on the bank of a pool in a dense forest in the Deccan. He had bathed and was wearing a flower garland, looking very saintly. He kept calling out to passers-by offering them a gold bangle. Most people went by without heeding him, but one greedy traveller stopped. For a moment he was cautious. ‘One has to take some risk if any wealth is to be won,’ he thought. “But there must be some caution before I take that risk. Suppose he is telling a lie?” “What are you doing here?” he asked the tiger, “You are a carnivorous animal. How can I trust you?” “I was certainly a carnivorous animal,” replied the tiger, “And I killed a lot of harmless animals when I was young. So, as a punishment for my wicked deeds, I lost my sons and my wife.”
The Tiger and the Bangle
