The Heron That Liked Crab-Meat

There was once a heron in a certain place on the

edge of a pond. Being old, he sought an easy way of

catching fish on which to live. He began by lingering
at the edge of his pond, pretending to be quite ir

resolute, not eating even the fish within his reach.



Now among the fish lived a crab. He drew near



and said: "Uncle, why do you neglect today your
usual meals and amusements?" And the heron re-
plied: "So long as I kept fat and flourishing by eating



fish, I spent my time pleasantly, enjoying the taste of

you. But a great disaster will soon befall you. And

as I am old, this will cut short the pleasant course of



my life. For this reason I feel depressed.



Uncle," said the crab, "of what nature is the
disaster?" And the heron continued: "Today I over-
heard the talk of a number of fishermen as they passed
near the pond. 'This is a big pond,' they were saying,

full offish. We will try a cast of the net tomorrow or

the day after. But today we will go jto the lake near
the city.' This being so, you are lost, my food supply


is cut off, I too am lost, and in grief at the thought,
am indifferent to food today."

Now when the water-dwellers heard the trickster's
report, they all feared for their lives and implored the
heron, saying: "Uncle! Father! Brother! Friend!
Thinker! Since you are informed of the calamity, you
also know the remedy. Pray save us from the jaws of

this death."



Then the heron said: "I am a bird, not competent



to contend with men. This, however, I can do. I can


transfer you from this pond to another, a bottomless
one." By this artful speech they were so led astray
that they said: "Uncle! Friend! Unselfish kinsman!
Take me first! Me first! Did you never hear this?

Stout hearts delight to pay the price



Of merciful self-sacrifice.
Count life as nothing, if it end
In gentle service to a friend.



Then the old rascal laughed in his heart, and took
counsel with his mind, thus: "My shrewdness has
brought these fishes into my power. They ought to be
eaten very comfortably." Having thus thought it
through, he promised what the thronging fish im-
plored, lifted some in his bill, carried them a certain



distance to a slab of stone, and ate them there. Day



after day he made the trip with supreme delight and
satisfaction, and meeting the fish, kept their con-



fidence bv ever new inventions.




One day the crab, disturbed by the fear of death

importuned him with the words: "Uncle, pray save
me, too, from the jaws of death." And the heron re-



flected: "I am quite tired of this unvarying fish diet
I should like to taste him. He is different, and choice/



So he picked up the crab and flew through the air.

But since he avoided all bodies of water and
seemed planning to alight on the sun-scorched rock,
the crab asked him: "Uncle, where is that pond with-
out any bottom?" And the heron laughed and said:



Do you see that broad, sun-scorched rock ? All the

water-dwellers have found repose there. Your turn
has now come to find repose

Then the crab looked down and saw a great rock



of sacrifice, made horrible by heaps of fish-skeletons.
And he thought: "Ah me!

Friends are foes and foes are friends



•Again :



As they mar or serve your ends;
Few discern where profit tends.



If you will, with serpents play;
Dwell with foemen who betray:
Shun your false and foolish friends
Fickle, seeking vicious ends.

Why, he has already eaten these fish whose skeletons
are scattered in heaps. So what might be an oppor-



tune course of action for me? Yet why do I need to

consider ?

Man is bidden to chastise
Even elders who devise



Again :



Devious courses, arrogant
Of their duty ignorant.


Fear fearful things, while yet
No fearful thing appears;

When danger must be met,
Strike, and forget your fears



So, before he drops me there, I will catch his neck
with all four claws/'

When he did so, the heron tried to escape, but



being a fool, he found no parry to the grip of the



crab's nippers, and had his head cut off.

Then the crab painfully made his way back to

the pond, dragging the heron's neck as if it had been

a lotus-stalk. And when he came among the fish, they
said: "Brother, why come back?" Thereupon he
showed the head as his credentials and said: "He
enticed the water-dwellers from every quarter, de-
ceived them with his prevarications, dropped them



on a slab of rock not far away, and ate them. But

further life being predestined — perceived that he




destroyed the trustful, and I have brought back his
neck. Forget your worries. All the water-dwellers

shall live in peace

And that is why I say:

heron ate what fish he could

and the rest of it.

"My friend," said the crow, "tell me how this
villainous snake is to meet his doom." And the jackal



answered: "Go to some spot frequented by a great

monarch. There seize a golden chain or a necklace
from some wealthy man who guards it carelessly. De-
posit this in such a place that when it is recovered, the

snake may be killed."

So the crow and his wife straightway flew off at

random, and the wife came upon a certain pond. As



she looked about, she saw the women of a king's court
playing in the water, and on the bank they had laid
golden chains, pearl necklaces, garments, and gems

One chain of gold the crow-hen seized and started for

the tree where she lived.

But when the chamberlains and the eunuchs saw
the theft, they picked up clubs and ran in pursuit
Meanwhile, the crow-hen dropped the golden chain



in the snake's hole and waited at a safe distance.



Now when the king's men climbed the tree, they
found a hole and in it a black snake with swelling

hood. So they killed him with their clubs, recovered

the golden chain, and went their way. Thereafter the
crow and his wife lived in peace

And that is why I say :

In cases where brute force would fail. . .


and the rest of it Furthermore:

Some men permit a petty foe
Through purblind heedlessness to grow
Till he who played a petty r61e
Grows, like disease, beyond control.



Indeed, there is nothing in the world that the intelli
gent cannot control. As the saying goes:

Intelligence is power. But where
Could power and folly make a pair?
The rabbit played upon his pride



To fool him; and the lion died.

How was that?" asked Cheek. And Victor told



the story of



NUMSKULL AND THE RABBIT