XXXIV.
THE CRANE AND THE FISH.
Lake Vimalavati has been occupied from time immemorial by large numbers of fish. Once upon a time, a crane, which happened to pass by, conceived the idea of preying on them, and stood on the brink of the lake. But it saw the fish going away from it shaking with fear, and so it said:—"I very much regret your going away from me in the belief that birds of my order make you their prey, and that I would do the same. But I have not come here with such an object in view. I, following others of my kind, have killed a good many fish, and became a sinner, but I am now grown very old, and have renounced the world. I am come here to perform penance. Fear not any harm from me. You may roam anywhere you please."
The poor fish believed the wily words of the crane, especially as the crane did not interfere with them at all, though they approached it. After some time had thus elapsed, the crane appeared to be very much dejected and melancholy. The fish approached it, and asked it what the matter was. To which the crane replied:—"What shall I say? A twelve years' famine will very shortly visit the land. Not a drop of water will then remain in this lake. I am able to know this by second sight, and, as you are my close friends, I cannot resist the temptation of informing you, lest you die when the famine comes."
The fish were exceedingly joyed at the humane nature of the crane, and requested it to save them from the impending peril. The crane, thereupon, informed them, that there was a lake a few yards further off, which would never dry, and that it would be a very happy refuge for the fish. The latter requested the former to take them up and leave them there. The crane, thereupon, took them up one by one and left them in the sun on a mountain-top, and slowly devoured them.
Moral:—We should never, therefore, believe the words of our natural enemies.