Reading Notes, Jataka Tales, Part B: The Foolhardy Wolf

A European grey wolf

(Source: Wikipedia Commons)

The Foolhardy Wolf

One day, a lion spent his afternoon feasting on as many buffalos as he could heat. As he walked to a lake to get some water, he came across a hungry wolf. The wolf knew he had no chance of escaping the lion so he threw himself at the feet of the lion. "What are you doing?", the lion said. "O lion, please let me be your servant." The lion said, "okay. If you serve me, you will have good food to eat." The lion said, "Every day, you need to the top of a mountain and look for elephants, buffaloes, or ponies. If you see any, come tell me that food is in sigh and I will kill it and give you some of the meat."

The wolf went to the top of the mountain and when he saw a pony, or a buffalo, or an elephant, he would go tell the lion that food was in sight. The lion would then go kill the animals and then bring food to the wolf. The wolf was loving this arrangement because he had never eaten so well. With so much food, the wolf was getting bigger and stronger by the day. The wolf was really confident in his new size so he asked the lion if he could stay back and nap while the lion went to the top of the mountain to look for food instead. The lion tried to convince the wolf that wolves could never kill an elephant, but he agreed to his proposition anyways. The lion went to the top of the mountain and when he saw an elephant, he came back and told the wolf that food as in sight. The wolf ran to the elephant and jumped towards it to kill it, but instead, he missed his aim and fell at the feet of the elephant. The elephant picked up his feed and stomped down on the wold, killing him.

Source: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt (1912)