The Quail's Friends

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young elephant,
and growing up a fine comely beast, he became the leader
of the herd, with a following of eighty thousand elephants,
and dwelt in the Himalayas. At that time a quail laid
her eggs in the feeding-ground of the elephants. When
the eggs were ready to be hatched, the young birds broke
the shells and came out. Before their wings had grown,
and when they were still unable to fly, the Great Being
with his following of eighty thousand elephants, in ranging
about for food, came to this spot. On seeing them the
quail thought, "This royal elephant will trample on my
young ones and kill them. Lo ! I will implore his
righteous protection for the defence of my brood." Then
she raised her two wings and standing before him repeated

the first stanza :

Elephant of sixty years,
Forest lord amongst thy peers,
I am but a puny bird,
Thou a leader of the herd;
With my wings I homage pay,
Spare my little ones, I pray.

The Great Being said, " O quail, be not troubled. I will
protect thy offspring." And standing over the young
birds, while the eighty thousand elephants passed by, he
thus addressed the quail: "Behind us comes a solitary
rogue elephant. He will not do our bidding. When he
comes, do thou entreat him too, and so insure the safety
of thy offspring." And with these words he made off
And the quail went forth to meet the other elephant, and
with both wings uplifted, making respectful salutation, she
spoke the second stanza :

Roaming over hill and dale

Cherishing thy lonely way,
Thee, forest king, I hail,

And with wings my homage pay.
I am but a wretched quail,

Spare my tender brood to slay.

On hearing her words, the elephant spoke the third

stanza :

I will slay thy young ones, quail;
What can thy poor help avail ?
My left foot can crush with ease
Many thousand birds like these.

And so saying, with his foot he crushed the young birds
to atoms, and staling over them washed them away in a
flood of water, and went off loudly trumpeting. The quail
sat down on a bough of a tree and said, " Then be off with
you and trumpet away. You shall very soon see what
I will do. You little know what a difference there is
between strength of body and strength of mind. Well !
I will teach you this lesson." And thus threatening him
she repeated the fourth stanza :

Power abused is not all gain,
Power is often folly's bane.
Beast that didst my young ones kill,
I will work thee mischief still.

And so saying, shortly afterwards she did a good turn
to a crow, and when the crow, who was highly pleased,
asked, " What can I do for you ? " the quail said, " There is
nothing else, Sir, to be done, but I shall expect you to
strike with your beak and to peck out the eyes of this
rogue elephant." The crow readily assented, and the quail
then did a service to a blue fly, and when the fly asked,
"What can I do for you?" she said, "When the eyes of
this rogue elephant have been put out by the crow, then
I want you to let fall a nit upon them." The fly agreed,
and then the quail did a kindness to a frog, and when the
frog asked what it was to do, she said, " When this rogue
elephant becomes blind, and shall be searching for water
to drink, then take your stand and utter a croak on the
top of a mountain, and when he has climbed to the top,
come down and croak again at the bottom of the pre-
cipice. This much I shall look for at your hands." After
hearing what the quail said, the frog readily assented.
So one day the crow with its beak pecked out both the
eyes of the elephant, and the fly dropped its eggs upon
them, and the elephant being eaten up with maggots was
maddened by the pain, and overcome with thirst wandered
about seeking for water to drink. At this moment the
frog standing on the top of a mountain uttered a croak.
Thought the elephant, " There must be water there," and
climbed up the mountain. Then the frog descended, and
standing at the bottom croaked again. The elephant
thought, " There will be water there," and moved forward
towards the precipice, and rolling over fell to the bottom
of the mountain and was killed. When the quail knew
that the elephant was dead, she said, " I have seen the
back of mine enemy," and in a high state of delight
strutted over his body, and passed away to fare according
to her deeds.