The Jackal and the Bandicoot
- December 9, 2022
By Srinidhi Murthy
One day, while roaming the forest in search of food, a jackal saw a troop of rats, who were led by their king, a bandicoot. The clever jackal realised that it would be useless to attack them as he would be able to catch only one of them before the rest ran away. He then hatched a plan and followed the rats to their hole.
The jackal waited for all the rats to go in and then stood outside, on one leg, his mouth open and his face turned towards the sun. This strange pose piqued the curiosity of the rats and some of them came out, with their king, the bandicoot, to find out more.
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The bandicoot asked the jackal –
“Why are you standing on one leg?”
“If I stood on all four, the earth would not be able to bear my weight’, the jackal replied.
When asked about why his mouth was open and his face turned upwards, the jackal told the rats that he was taking only air as his food and that he was facing the sun to worship him. The bandicoot and the other rats were impressed by the jackal’s answers and hailed him as a saint. The jackal was thrilled when he found out that his plan was working.
The next day, the jackal stood in the same position when the rats arrived to worship him. After some time, the rats started to leave. This was the chance he was waiting for! Without attracting any attention, he quickly swiped up the last rat in the line and gobbled him up.
This went on for many days. The jackal continued to eat one rat every day without anyone noticing. One morning however, the bandicoot noticed that the jackal had gained weight, even though he had been taking only air as his food for many days. Later, a few rats also pointed out to him that the number of rats in their hole had reduced. The bandicoot immediately suspected the jackal’s hand behind these strange events and decided to confirm his suspicions.
That evening, as the rats set out to meet the jackal, the bandicoot said-
“Today, all of you go ahead. I will come out last”.
As usual, the rats worshipped the jackal and started to leave. The bandicoot, who was last in line, was prepared, as he expected the jackal to pounce on him.
The moment the jackal sprang, the bandicoot moved. The jackal fell down. Without wasting a moment, the bandicoot dug his teeth into the jackal’s throat and killed him. That evening, the happy rats had a grand feast of the sly jackal’s body!
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