Man and Beast
>> Tuesday, November 9, 2010
An ordinary man, Ramlal, was passing through a jungle when he heard another man’s voice: “Help, help, somebody please help.” Ramlal also heard an animal’s roar. Initially he was scared but being kind, he tried to hear and looked intently if somebody was in trouble. He saw a well nearby and realized that the shout of ‘help’ had come from the well. He went near the well and looked inside. A man and a tiger were trapped in that deep well. Both requested Ramlal for help. Though scared of the beast, the god fearing Ramlal somehow helped them come out and prayed silently that the tiger would not attack him. Both the man and the beast thanked him profusely.
The tiger spoke first: “Thank you my friend. You must be wondering why I did not attack this man in the well with me as is my ‘prakriti’ (natural instinct). You see, both of us were sailing in the same boat of trouble and sympathized with each other. We even gave moral strength to each other. However, I am grateful to you for saving our lives and if ever you are in trouble, just come here near this tree and call me. I will come and help you in whichever way I can, and that’s a promise.”
The man said more or less the same thing as the tiger, adding that his name was Zaverilal and he was a goldsmith by profession. Zaverilal gave Ramlal his address in the nearby town and promised to help Ramlal in his time of distress. Then they all went their own ways.
A few years after this incident, Ramlal was in some kind of financial trouble. He decided to check out his friends. He went to the jungle and called out for the tiger as instructed. The tiger came and listened to Ramlal’s tale of woe. The tiger took him to a nearby tree and asked Ramlal to dig the ground. Ramlal did so and found a pot of gold. The tiger said he was happy to help Ramlal and wished him good luck. Ramlal took the gold to the town where Zaverilal lived and requested Zaverilal to give him money against the gold. Zaverilal, a greedy man, instead took him to the king and complained that Ramlal had stolen his gold. He betrayed the man who had saved his life.
The king was a wise man. He listened to Ramlal’s side of story. He went to the jungle with Ramlal, Zaverilal and a few of his ministers. Ramlal called the tiger and the tiger vouched for Ramlal’s innocence. The king was mighty angry with the goldsmith, not because of his greed, but because of his betrayal and decided to punish him then and there. The king told the tiger to eat and devour Zaverilal if it wanted to. The tiger replied: “Maharaj, we have sailed the same boat once. I had called him a friend once. I cannot eat a friend, however good or bad he is.”
The king was very pleased. He promised the tiger protection against poachers. He also asked Ramlal to keep the gold and also gave him additional financial help to come out of his troubles.
Since then the tiger kept telling all animals: “beware of men.”
The tiger spoke first: “Thank you my friend. You must be wondering why I did not attack this man in the well with me as is my ‘prakriti’ (natural instinct). You see, both of us were sailing in the same boat of trouble and sympathized with each other. We even gave moral strength to each other. However, I am grateful to you for saving our lives and if ever you are in trouble, just come here near this tree and call me. I will come and help you in whichever way I can, and that’s a promise.”
The man said more or less the same thing as the tiger, adding that his name was Zaverilal and he was a goldsmith by profession. Zaverilal gave Ramlal his address in the nearby town and promised to help Ramlal in his time of distress. Then they all went their own ways.
A few years after this incident, Ramlal was in some kind of financial trouble. He decided to check out his friends. He went to the jungle and called out for the tiger as instructed. The tiger came and listened to Ramlal’s tale of woe. The tiger took him to a nearby tree and asked Ramlal to dig the ground. Ramlal did so and found a pot of gold. The tiger said he was happy to help Ramlal and wished him good luck. Ramlal took the gold to the town where Zaverilal lived and requested Zaverilal to give him money against the gold. Zaverilal, a greedy man, instead took him to the king and complained that Ramlal had stolen his gold. He betrayed the man who had saved his life.
The king was a wise man. He listened to Ramlal’s side of story. He went to the jungle with Ramlal, Zaverilal and a few of his ministers. Ramlal called the tiger and the tiger vouched for Ramlal’s innocence. The king was mighty angry with the goldsmith, not because of his greed, but because of his betrayal and decided to punish him then and there. The king told the tiger to eat and devour Zaverilal if it wanted to. The tiger replied: “Maharaj, we have sailed the same boat once. I had called him a friend once. I cannot eat a friend, however good or bad he is.”
The king was very pleased. He promised the tiger protection against poachers. He also asked Ramlal to keep the gold and also gave him additional financial help to come out of his troubles.
Since then the tiger kept telling all animals: “beware of men.”
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