The Monkey and the Crocodile – From the Jataka tales

There is a story of the monkey and the crocodile from the Panchatantra which I have narrated earlier in this website which you can read here.

Here is another story with the same heading from the Jataka tales.

Once upon a time, there lived a clever monkey by name Chatura on a huge Peepul tree on the banks of the Narmada. Just about fifty feet away in the river, there was a small islet (meaning tiny island) with a huge mango tree on it. The ripe mangoes on the tree were golden in colour. They were fat, round and juicy and tasted heavenly. So, during the mango season, Chatura would eat these mangoes every day to his heart’s content. But to get to the islet, he had to cross the river. Luckily there was a small rock midway between the river bank and the islet and he would with one leap, land on the rock and with the next leap land on the islet. The tree was huge and he would be up on the branches and after filling his stomach to his heart’s content, he would come back the same way as he went.

Now, in the river there lived a crocodile  couple, Dushtabuddhi and his wife Vakrabuddhi. They both used to observe Chatura leaping and reaching the islet and back. Both of them desired to catch Chatura and gobble him up as an evening snack. They had tried their luck  a couple of times but he was too nimble and fast for them.

“Hmm..” said Vakrabuddhi one day. “How I wish you were smarter and caught that monkey by now…”

“If you think you are smarter why don’t you give me a smart idea eh?” retorted Dushtabuddhi.

“Well… well… I am smarter than you anyways so listen to this idea of mine. Your skin colour matches the colour of the rock which that little rascal  uses to land when he leaps to and from the islet…”

“So?” asked Dushtabuddhi.

Vakrabuddhi continued. “As soon as he is up on the tree, why don’t you lie on the rock hiding your face and tail in the water, just showing your back … The rock is after all small and you can easily keep your face and tail inside the water. That brat will not find out that you are lying on the rock and, like a fool jump on you and you can push him into the water where I will wait below  and then…” Vakrabuddhi could not control drooling at the thought of Chatura in her mouth.

“Good idea!” said Dushtabuddhi. The next day they lay in the shallow waters as still as they could. Chatura as usual leapt on the rock and reached the islet. As he climbed on to the mango tree, Dushtabuddhi slowly crept upon the rock and put his face and tail inside the water. Only his back was exposed on the rock. Vakrabuddhi was waiting in the water a little distance away waiting for Chatura to be back.

Chatura had his fill of juicy mangoes and came down the tree. He was a clever fellow as I already said. He looked at the rock and was puzzled.

“How come the rock looks bigger than usual. It was not big when I came a while back. Can a rock grow just like that? ” he thought to himself. He was wary and just stood there observing the rock. Dushtabuddhi was lying as still as he could but Chatura thought he saw the rock moving slightly. “What do I do now?” he wondered. There was no other way he could reach the river bank and his home on the Peepul tree. The waters were dangerous with crocodiles. “Hmm… I have to think and act. Haste is waste, as elders say. Let me think” he said to himself. Suddenly he got an idea.

He called out to the rock. “Hey rock!” he said, “how did you manage to become fat all of a sudden huh? You looked normal when I landed on you to come here…”

Dushtabuddhi was a fool. Instead of keeping quiet, he pulled out his face from the water and said “Ha ha ha… I was only lying on the rock. Now you can’t cross over to your home. You will have to cross me and go and I am not going to leave you ha ha..” He was showing his ugly, rugged and deadly teeth as he spoke.

Chatura was shocked. Here he was, stuck in the islet and in case he wanted to go he would end up in the tummy of Dushtabuddhi! However Chatura did not panic. He knew he could always climb on to the tree if Dushtabuddhi came out of the river. He thought for a while and imagined Dushtabuddhi with his mouth wide open while he jumped. Scary it was, but hey, he remembered that Dushtabuddhi always closed his eyes when his mouth was wide open.

Gathering courage Chatura called out to Dushtabuddhi. “Hey Dushtabuddhi!” he said pretending to be very meek. “I know I cannot escape you today and my fate is sealed. So I have decided to accept my fate. I am happy that my body will be useful to you at least, as food. So please open your mouth wide so I will jump straight in and you can gobble me up. I will also not suffer pain.”

Dushtabuddhi and Vakrabuddhi (who was inside the water) were surprised but they thought they had frightened Chatura and he had no option now. Without thinking, Dushtabuddhi said, “Well, good that you have decided to jump into my mouth. I will open it now”. Chatura said, “Open as wide as possible so that I can jump in properly”.

Dushtabuddhi without a thought, opened his mouth wider and wider till he shut his eyes completely.

“Now I have to be careful” thought Chatura. Then, gathering all his strength, with one leap he jumped over the mouth and on to the back of Dushtabuddhi. The very next second he leapt again and had landed on the mainland!

It was only then that Dushtabuddhi realized, that Chatura had jumped on his back instead of into his mouth and now he was not there. Dushtabuddhi closed his mouth and opened his eyes only to see Chatura swiftly going up the Peepul tree.

“Chatura! Chatura!” called out Dushtabuddhi but do you think would Chatura be foolish enough to even stop and respond? The crocodiles had lost him yet again!