Tuesday, September 26, 2017

reading notes: the lion in bad company, part a

This week I am reading The Lion in Bad Company from the Jataka Tales.

I am not sure if this is just fate, but almost every story I have come across (and even some of my classmates) have included a wolf in some way or another. I was trying to avoid that today and branch out to new topics, but I guess the wolves find me when I am not even looking for them!

This story starts out with a wolf running into a lion and begging for his life. You see the lion's characteristics when he goes against what his family has told him and gives into the wolf. His family warned him not to ever listen to a wolf. The young lion thought he knew better than them and still allowed the wolf to come home and stay with his family in their den. 

The wolf talked the young lion into going to the river and killing a pony for him and the wolf to eat. The father reminded the son that those ponies belong to the king and that lions that steal from the king don't live long. 

The pony tasted so good that the lion did not listen to his father. He continued to kill ponies until the king find out what was happening to them. The king had a tank built in the town, but the lion was so foolish that he followed to the tank and continued the killings. Then, the king had the ponies stay in their stables, but the lion continued. 

Finally, the king ordered an archer to shoot the lion. Once the lion was shot, he yelled out to the wolf and realized that he had been tricked. The wolf was following all along just to get the lion killed so he could return to his normal life back in the woods.

(Photo from Flickr.)


Indian Tales Unit: The Lion in Bad Company by Ellen Babbit.

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