From the Elephant Pit
A hunter once dug a pit to catch and trap wild elephants. One day, a man who was
being chased by a lion fell into the pit, and then the lion followed a second later. Before
they had time to pick themselves up, down came a mouse, closely followed by a snake
who had been chasing it, and he, in turn, was followed by a falcon who had been trying
to catch him.
So there they were -- all five of them -- caught in the elephant pit and unable to
get out. Each as he picked himself up tried to get away as far as possible from the others,
for none knew what harm might come to him.
The man thought, "I must kill the lion or he will eat me."
The lion thought, "I must eat the man or he will kill me."
The falcon thought, "I must kill the snake or it may bite me."
The mouse thought, "Oh my! how I wish I could get away from all these big
creatures!"
Thus they all sat silent, each one afraid to move lest some one or another
pounce upon him and kill him.
In time the lion spoke: "Oh, honored ones," said he, "we are all comrades in
misfortune. Let us promise not to hurt each other. Let each abide where he now is, while
we plan a way to get out of this pit."
"Agreed!" cried all the others in haste, and especially pleased was the mouse.
Thus they all sat apart trying to think of a plan to escape, when the elephant
hunter came to the pit.
"Why, what is all this?" the hunter cried, looking down.
"Oh, hunter, good hunter, kind hunter, please help us out!" cried the animals.
"You see that we are not elephants."
"No, no, good hunter, I am not an elephant, I am not an elephant," squealed the
mouse.
The hunter laughed. "No, you don't look much like an elephant, my little
friend,” he said. "I think I must help you all to escape."
The first animal that the hunter drew up was the lion. "Oh, hunter," said the
lion, "I and the other animals will prove grateful to you and will help you for your
kindness to us, so rescue them. But leave the man in the pit, for I warn you he will forget
your kindness and do you harm."
The hunter, however, would not listen to the lion's advice, and rescued
everyone.
A short time after this, the hunter fell ill of a great fever. He could not go into
the woods to hunt for game, and he and his wife would have died but for the kindness of
the lion. Every day the lion brought fresh meat and left it at the hunter's door.
One day while flying through the forest, the falcon saw something bright and
glistening lying on the ground. He swooped down and found some beautiful gems. He
carried the gems to the hunter's house and dropped them in his lap. Thus he, too, tried
to repay the hunter for saving his life.
Now the gems found by the falcon belonged to the queen. She had lost them
one day while passing through the wood. As she did not miss them until the next day,
she thought they must have been stolen during the night, and told the king so.
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