Reading Notes: Babbitt, More Jataka Tales, Part B

The Hawks and Their Friends

On an island in a lake, a mother hawk and father hawk had a nest with young hawks. The father hawk had made friends with a turtle, a kingfisher, and a lion. One day, a hunter settled in for camp under the tree that held the hawks' nest. The hunter started a fire, and the smoke caused the young hawks to cry, alerting the hunter to their presence. The hunter decided to try to eat the young hawks, so the father hawk took off to get the kingfisher for help. The kingfisher repeatedly put out the hunter's fire, but eventually, the kingfisher grew too tired to help. The hawk went to grab the turtle for help, and the turtle put mud over the fire. Then the turtle had to dive into the lake to escape a net the hunter made. Then, the hunter was still not done. So, the father hawk ran to grab the lion who scared the hunter away. The story ends with the hawk saying, "Friends in need are friends indeed."

Prince Wicked and the Grateful Animals

There was a prince who was very rude to all around him. One day, the prince and his servants were swimming in a river when a big storm hit and caused the river to rise. The prince grabbed onto a log. Soon, a rat, a parrot, and a snake joined him on the log. As they were floating down the river, a poor man in his shack saw the prince, the rat, the parrot, and the snake floating. The poor man swam out to the log and pulled the prince, rat, parrot, and snake in. Once in the lodge, the poor man started a fire and fed the snake and the rat first since they were in worse condition. The prince was upset about this. When all were back to health and leaving, the rat promised the poor man money if he ever needed it. The snake promised the poor man gold. The parrot promised him rice. And the prince promised the poor man wealth once he became king. Years down the road, the poor man went to see if each would follow up on their promises. The three animals kept their promises without hesitation; however, the prince did not. He was now king and ordered his men to kill the poor man until the poor man told the prince's men about the prince's promise. The people killed the prince in fear that he may turn on them as well and made the poor man king. The poor man brought the snake, rat, and parrot into his palace and gave them the best homes and amazing food.

A white-throated kingfisher is a species of kingfisher in India.
Image source: Wikimedia

Bilbiography

"More Jataka Tales". Ellen C. Babbitt. Found online here