The Elephant and the pigeons

Once upon a time an elephant took rest under a tree where a pair of pigeons had build their nest. By accident, as he moved around near the tree, he broke the branch which had their nest and the birds eggs fell to the ground all smashed up while the birds flew to safety. The mother cried in grief at the death of her babies. Her best friend the Koyal came by her side to console the pigeons. The koyal and the pigeons decided to do something about it and spoke to the other two friends a crow and a frog. They all devised a plan to teach the elephant a lesson. The plan was to drive the elephant to a hollow hole made in the ground by the hunting tribes in the forest, so he can fall down in the hole in the ground. The Koyal bird first went near the tree where elephant was eating and began to sing sweetly. The elephant closed his eyes to enjoy the sweet music. The crow pecked at his eyes as soon as he had closed them and made the elephant blind. The frog began to croak and the thirsty blind elephant began to follow the frog’s croaking sound in search of water. The croaking frog lead him to the deep hollow where the elephant fell in deep pit in the ground and died. The elephant met his end due to his careless behavior and the unity of friends.

Wisdom, life lessons and rules-There is strength in unity and victory can be achieved when united with single purpose and a smart well-devised plan..

Credits: The panchatantra by Visnu Sarma translated by Chandra Rajan