The Fowler and The Quails

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a quail, and lived in the
forest at the head of many thousands of quails. In those
days a fowler who caught quails came to that place ; and
he used to imitate the note of a quail till he saw that the
birds had been drawn together, when he flung his net
over them, and whipped the sides of the net together,
so as to get them all huddled up in a heap. Then he
crammed them into his basket, and going home sold
his prey for a living.

Now one day the Bodhisatta said to those quails, "This
fowler is making havoc among our kinsfolk. I have a
device whereby he will be unable to catch us. Henceforth,
the very moment he throws the net over you, let each one
put his head through a mesh and then all of you together
must fly away with the net to such place as you please,
and there let it down on a thorn-brake ; this done, we
will all escape from our several meshes." "Very good,"
said they all in ready agreement.

On the morrow, when the net was cast over them, they
did just as the Bodhisatta had told them: they lifted
up the net, and let it down on a thorn-brake, escaping
themselves from underneath. While the fowler was still
disentangling his net, evening came on ; and he went away
empty-handed. On the morrow and following days the
quails played the same trick. So that it became the
regular thing for the fowler to be engaged till sunset
disentangling his net, and then to betake himself home
empty-handed. Accordingly his wife grew angry and
said, "Day by day you return empty-handed; I suppose
you've got a second establishment to keep up elsewhere."

"No, my dear," said the fowler; "I've no second estab-
lishment to keep up. The fact is those quails have come
to work together now. The moment my net is over them,
off they fly with it and escape, leaving it on a thorn-brake.
Still, they won't live in unity always. Don't you bother
yourself; as soon as they start bickering among them-
selves, I shall bag the lot, and that will bring a smile to
your face to see." And so saying, he repeated this stanza
to his wife :

While concord reigns, the birds bear off the net.
When quarrels rise, they'll fall a prey to me.

Not long after this, one of the quails, in alighting
on their feeding-ground, trod by accident on another's
head. " Who trod on my head ? " angrily cried this latter.
" I did ; but I didn't mean to. Don't be angry," said the
first quail. But notwithstanding this answer, the other
remained as angry as before. Continuing to answer one
another, they began to bandy taunts, saying, "I suppose
it is you single-handed who lift up the net." As they
wrangled thus w r ith one another, the Bodhisatta thought
to himself, " There's no safety with one who is quarrelsome.
The time has come when they will no longer lift up the
net, and thereby they will come to great destruction.
The fowler will get his opportunity. I can stay here no
longer." And thereupon he with his following went else-
where.

Sure enough the fowler came back again a few days
later, and first collecting them together by imitating the
note of a quail, flung his net over them. Then said one
quail, " They say when you were at work lifting the net,
the hair of your head fell off. Now's your time ; lift away."
The other rejoined, "When you were lifting the net, they
say both your wings moulted. Now's your time; lift
away."

But whilst they were each inviting the other to lift
the net, the fowler himself lifted the net for them and
crammed them in a heap into his basket and bore them
off' home, so that his wife's face was wreathed with smiles.