To all this the Jackal replied: "Cats have a taste for animal food, and
above is the residence of the young birds: it is on this account I
speak to thee."

The Cat, having touched his two ears, and then the ground, exclaimed:
"I, who have read books upon the duties of religion, and am freed from
inordinate desires, have forsaken such an evil practice; and, indeed,
even amongst those who dispute with one another about the authority of
the Sastras, there are many by whom this sentence: 'Not to kill is a
supreme duty,' is altogether approved."

The Cat by these means having satisfied the jackal, he remained in the
hollow of the tree with him and passed the time in amusing
conversation; and the Jackal told the young birds that they had no
occasion to go out of the way.

After this, when many days had passed, it was discovered that the Cat
had, by degrees, drawn all the little birds down into the hollow of the
tree, and there devoured them; but when he found inquiry was about to
be made by those whose young ones had been eaten, he slipped out of the
hole and made his escape. In the meantime, the bones of the young ones
having been discovered in the hollow of the tree by the parent birds,
who had been searching here and there, they concluded that their little
ones had been devoured by the Jackal, and so, being joined by other
birds, they put him to death.

Wherefore I say, "To one whose family and profession are unknown, one
should not give residence."

[1]Long-ear