This is a very old story about a jungle where there was a hollow in a very large tree trunk. A partridge named Kapinjal used to reside in that hollow. Every day, he would go to the fields to find food and return by evening.
One day, while searching for food, Kapinjal went far into a field with his friends and did not return by evening. When several days passed without the partridge returning, a hare made that hollow in the tree trunk its home.
After about two to three weeks, the partridge finally returned. He had become quite fat due to eating a lot and was very tired from the long journey. Upon returning, he saw that a hare was now living in his home. This made him very angry, and he angrily said to the hare, “This is my home. Get out of here.”
Seeing the partridge shout in this way, the hare also got angry and replied, “What home? Whose home? It’s a rule of the jungle that wherever one is living, that’s their home. You used to live here, but now I live here, so this is my home.”
This led to an argument between the two. The partridge repeatedly asked the hare to leave from his home, but the hare was not budging from his place. Then, the partridge suggested that they should let someone else decide the matter.
A cat watching their fight from a distance thought that if these two come to me for a decision, it will be a good opportunity for me to have them as a meal.
Thinking this, the cat sat under the tree in a posture of meditation and started speaking loudly about wisdom and knowledge. Hearing the cat’s words, the partridge and hare thought that it seemed knowledgeable, and they should approach it for a decision.
Both of them said from a distance to the cat, “Aunt Cat, you seem wise. Please help us, and whoever is at fault, you can eat them.”
Hearing their words, the cat replied, “Now I have given up the path of violence, but I will surely help you. The problem is that I am now old and from such a distance, I can’t hear anything clearly. Can you both come closer to me?”
Having faith in the cat’s words, the two approached the cat. As soon as they got close enough, the cat pounced and killed them both in one swift strike.
Lesson from the Story:
The lesson we learn from this story is that we should avoid arguments, and if an argument arises, we should not let a third party intervene.
