The Language of Animals

Once upon a time when a king named Senaka was
reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was Sakka. The king
Senaka was friendly with a certain naga-king. This naga-
king, they say, left the naga-world and ranged the earth
seeking food. The village boys seeing him said, "This
is a snake," and struck him with clods and other things.
The king, going to amuse himself in his garden, saw them,
and being told they were beating a snake, said, " Don't let
them beat him, drive them away " ; and this was done. So
the naga-king got his life, and when he went back to the
naga-world, he took many jewels, and coming at midnight
to the king's bed-chamber he gave them to him, saying,
" I got my life through you " : so he made friendship with
the king and came again and again to see him. He ap-
pointed one of his naga girls, insatiate in pleasures, to be
near the king and protect him : and he gave the king a
charm, saying, "If ever you do not see her, repeat this
charm." One day the king went to the garden with the
naga girl and was amusing himself in the lotus-tank. The
naga girl seeing a water-snake quitted her human shape
and made love with him. The king not seeing the girl
said, " Where is she gone ? " and repeated the spell : then
he saw her in her misconduct and struck her with a piece
of bamboo. She went in anger to the naga-world, and
when she was asked, "Why are you come?" she said,
" Your friend struck me on the back because I did not do
his bidding," shewing the mark of the blow. The naga-
king, not knowing the truth, called four naga youths and
sent them with orders to enter Senaka's bed-chamber and
destroy him like chaff by the breath of their nostrils.
Thev entered the chamber at the roval bed-time. As
they came in, the king was saying to the queen: "Lady,
do you know where the naga girl has gone ? " " King, I do
not." "To-day when we were bathing in the tank, she
quitted her shape and misconducted herself with a water-
snake : I said, ' Don't do that,' and struck her with a piece
of bamboo to give her a lesson : and now I fear she may
have gone to the naga-world and told some lie to my friend,
destroying his good-will to me." The young nagas hearing
this turned back at once to the naga-world and told their
king. He being moved went instantly to the king's
chamber, told him all and was forgiven: then he said,
" In this way I make amends," and gave the king a charm
giving knowledge of all sounds : " This, O king, is a price-
less spell : if you give anyone this spell you will at once
enter the fire and die." The king said, "It is well," and
accepted it. From that time he understood the voice
even of ants. One day he was sitting on the dais eating
solid food with honey and molasses : and a drop of honey,
a drop of molasses, and a morsel of cake fell on the ground.
An ant seeing this comes crying, " The king's honey -jar is
broken on the dais, his molasses-cart and cake-cart are
upset ; come and eat honey and molasses and cake." The
king hearing the cry laughed. The queen being near him
thought, " What has the king seen that he laughs ? " When
the king had eaten his solid food and bathed and sat down
cross-legged, a fly said to his wife, " Come, lady, let us enjoy
love." She said, "Excuse me for a little, husband: they
will soon be bringing perfumes to the king ; as he perfumes
himself some powder will fall at his feet : I will stay there
and become fragrant, then we will enjoy ourselves lying
on the king's back/' The king hearing the voice laughed
again. The queen thought again, " What has he seen that
he laughs ? " Again when the king was eating his supper,
a lump of rice fell on the ground. The ants cried, "A
wagon of rice has broken in the king's palace, and there
is none to eat it." The king hearing this laughed again.
The queen took a golden spoon and helping him reflected,
" Is it at the sight of me that the king laughs ? " She went
to the bed-chamber with the king and at bed-time she
asked, "Why did you laugh, O king?" He said, "What
have you to do with why I laugh ? " but being asked again
and again he told her. Then she said, "Give me your
spell of knowledge." He said, " It cannot be given": but
though repulsed she pressed him again.

The king said, " If I give you this spell, I shall die."
"Even though you die, give it me." The king, being in
the power of womankind, saying, "Very well," consented
and went to the park in a chariot, saying, " I shall enter
the fire after giving away this spell." At that moment,
Sakka, king of gods, looked down on the earth and seeing
this case said, "This foolish king, knowing that he will
enter the fire through womankind, is on his way ; I will
give him his life " : so he took Suja, daughter of the Asuras,
and went to Benares. He became a he-goat and made
her a she-goat, and resolving that the people should not
see them, he stood before the king's chariot. The king
and the Sindh horses yoked in the chariot saw him, but
none else saw him. For the sake of starting talk he was
as if making love with the she-goat. One of the Sindh
horses yoked in the chariot seeing him said, " Friend goat,
we have heard before, but not seen, that goats are stupid
and shameless : but you are doing, with all of us looking
on, this thing that should be done in secret and in a
private place, and are not ashamed : what we have heard
before agrees with this that we see " : and so he spoke the
first stanza :

" Goats are stupid," say the sages, aud the words are surely true :
This one knows not he's parading what in secret he should do.

The goat hearing him spoke two stanzas :

Truly you're a stupid fool, you donkey ! let me make it plain,
"With a bit your mouth is wrenched, your head is twisted with the rein.

When you're loosed, you don't escape, sir, that's a stupid habit too:
And that Senaka you carry, he's more stupid still than you.

The king understood the talk of both animals, and
hearing it he quickly sent away the chariot. The horse
hearing the goat's talk spoke the fourth stanza:

Well, Sir king of goats, you fully know my great stupidity:
But how Seuaka is stupid, prithee do explain to me.

The goat explaining this spoke the fifth stanza :

He who his own special treasure on his wjfe will throw away,
Cannot keep her faithful ever and his life he must betray.

The king hearing his Avords said, "King of goats, yon
will surely act for my advantage: tell me now what is right
for me to do." Then the goat said, " King, to all animals
no one is dearer than self; it is not good to destroy oneself
and abandon the honour one has gained for the sake of
anything that is dear": so he spoke the sixth stanza:

A king, like thee, may have conceived desire
And yet renounced it if his life's the cost:

Life is the chief thing: what can man seek higher?
If life's secured, desires need ne'er be crossed.

So the Bodhisatta exhorted the king. The king,
delighted, asked, "King of goats, whence come you?"
" I am Sakka, O king, come to save you from death out
of pity for you." " King of gods, I promised to give her
the charm: what am I to do now?" "There is no need
for the ruin of both of you : you say, ' It is the way of the
craft,' and have her beaten with some blows : by this means
she will not get it." The king said, " Very well," and agreed.
The Bodhisatta after exhortation to the king went to his
own place. The king went to the garden, had the queen
summoned and then said, "Lady, will you have the charm ? "
" Yes, lord." " Then go through the usual custom." " What
custom ? " "A hundred stripes on the back, but you must
not make a sound." She consented through greed for the
charm. The king made his slaves take whips and beat her
on both sides. She endured two or three stripes and then
cried, "I don't want the charm." The king said, "You
would have killed me to get the charm," and so flogging
the skin off her back he sent her away. After that she
could not bear to talk of it again.