Rajah of the Woods. Then, that we may not lose the lucky moment,"
continued the Jackal, "be pleased to follow quickly." Saying this, he
cocked his tail and went away.

The Elephant, whose reason was perverted by the lust of power, took the
same road as the Jackal, and followed him so exactly that, at length,
he stuck fast in a great mire. "O my friend!" cried the Elephant,
"what is to be done in this disaster? I am sinking in a deep mire!"

The Jackal laughed, and said: "Please, your divine Highness, take hold
of my tail with your trunk, and get out! This is the fruit of those
words which thou didst place confidence in."

They say:

As often as thou shalt be deprived of the society of the good, so often
shalt thou fall into the company of knaves.

After a few days, the Elephant dying for want of food, his flesh was
devoured by the Jackals. I say, therefore: "That which cannot be
effected by force, may be achieved by cunning."

[1]Marked with white spots.

[2]Low-minded, mean-spirited, bad-hearted.



The Lion, the Mouse, and the Cat