Once upon a time there lived a poor brahmin.  He used to work hard on the fields but all his efforts did not bear fruit.  One day he found an anthill on his field and found a serpent there. Thinking that he had not paid respect to the guardian deity of his field, he procured milk and started feeding the anthill with milk from that day. One day he found a gold coin in the plate. So he used to get a gold coin everyday when he fed the serpent with milk.

 

One day he had to go to the town and so he asked his son to look after the serpent by feeding him the milk. The son was greedy and he thought, " This anthill must be full of gold coin. So if I kill the serpent, I can get all the gold coins together."

And he stuck the serpent. Unluckily the serpent did not die and it attacked the boy and he died. Returning to his village the next day, the brahmin heard the story of his son’s death and at once realized that greed was behind it.

He went to the anthill the day after his son’s cremation and offered milk to the cobra. Without coming out of his hole, the cobra told the brahmin, “ You have come here for gold forgetting that you had lost a son and that you were in mourning. The reason is greed, pure greed. From today, there is no meaning in our relationship. Blinded by his youth, your son has struck me and I bit him back. How can I forget that blow? How can you suffer the grief of your son’s death? Finally, I am giving you this diamond, don’t come back again.”

  

MORAL : Love once betrayed cannot be regained.

              Panchatantra Stories               

 

 Home | About India | Language Book | Activity Book | Story Book 

Contact Us