Another great story from Jataka Tales. Once upon a time, hundreds of wild goats lived in a cave situated upon a hill. A wolf also lived with his wife in another cave nearby. Just like all the other wolves, the wolf couple also liked the taste of goat-meat. So they caught the goats, one after another, and ate them all. But, there was one wise goat who always managed to outsmart the wolf couple. No matter how hard the wolf couple tried to catch the wise goat, she somehow always outsmarted them.
One day the wolf said to his wife, “My dear, let us play a trick on that wise goat. You go alone to her cave and tell her that I am dead. Try to win over her sympathy by looking sad and then seek her help in burying my body. I am sure that the goat will feel sorry for you and agree to come here with you. When she will come near me, I will bite her in the neck and kill her. Both of us will enjoy her delicious meat then.”
The wolf then lay down, and his wife went to meet the goat, saying what she had been told to say. The wise goat heard the she-wolf’s story but kept sitting inside the cave and said, “”My dear, you and your late husband have killed all my relatives and friends. I do not think I am too safe out there with you.”
“Do not be afraid! I am mourning the death of my husband and thus I have decided not to kill any animal for one week,” said the wolf. “And my husband is dead now. So, what harm can a dead wolf do to you?”
The she-wolf managed to convince the goat to accompany her. The wise goat set out to the wolf’s cave but as she was still unsure of the she-wolf’s intentions, she asked the she-wolf to stay ahead of her.
Meanwhile the he-wolf who was pretending to be dead since a long time in front of his cave, started to get impatient. He was hungry and he raised up his head a little to see whether the goat was coming with his wife or not. The goat saw him raise his head, and ran back to her cave.
“Why did you have to raise your head? We almost had the wise goat in our clutches,” the she-wolf scolded her husband. He had no good answer. The she-wolf said, “Though your foolishness has spoiled everything, I will still try once again to bring the goat back to our cave.”
The she-wolf went back to the wise goat’s cave and said, “My friend, your presence is divine! The moment you came near my husband, he sprung back to life. He is now very much better. I am indeed very thankful to you. Let us be friends and have a good time together.”
The wise goat knew that the she-wolf was again trying to pull a trick on her. She said, “My friend, I am glad to hear the good news. We must share it with as many animals as we can. I will bring some of my friends also to your cave. Then we can all have a good time together.”
The she-wolf had no idea who these friends were, so she asked the goat, “Who are your friends? Tell me their names.” The wise goat said, “I will bring the two hounds, Old Gray and Young Tan and a big bull-dog called Four-Eyes. I will also ask them to bring their mates.”
The she-wolf was scared of the dogs and fled to her cave. She told her husband about the ferocious friends of the wise goat. The wolf couple took to their heels and the wise goat never saw either of them again.
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Jataka tales are awesome