Book 4. Loss Of Gains
[The frametale for Book 4 of the Panchatantra.]
Here, then, begins Book 4, called "Loss of Gains." The first verse runs:
Blind folly always has to pay
For giving property away
Because of blandishments and guile -
The monkey tricked the crocodile.
"How was that?" asked the princes. And Vishnusharman told the story of The Monkey and the Crocodile:
On the shore of the sea was a great rose-apple tree that was never without fruit. In it lived a monkey named Red-Face.
Now one day a crocodile named Ugly-Mug crawled out of the ocean under the tree and burrowed in the soft sand. Then Red-Face said: "You are my guest, sir. Pray eat these rose-apples which I throw you. You will find them like nectar. You know the proverb:
A fool or scholar let him be,
Pleasant or hideous to see,
A guest, when offerings are given,
Is useful as a bridge to heaven.
Ask not his home or education,
His family or reputation,
But offer thanks and sacrifice:
For so prescribes the law-book wise.
And again:
By honouring the guests who come
Way-worn from some far-distant home
To share the sacrifice, you go
The noblest way that mortals know.
And once again:
If guests unhonoured leave your door,
And sadly sighing come no more,
Your fathers and the gods above
Turn from you and forget their love."
Thus he spoke and offered rose-apples. And the crocodile ate them and enjoyed a long and pleasant conversation with the monkey before returning to his home. So the monkey and the crocodile rested each day in the shade of the rose-apple tree. They spent the time in cheerful conversation on various subjects, and were happy.
Now the crocodile went home and gave his wife the rose-apples which he had not eaten. And one day she asked him: "My dear husband, where do you get such fruits? They are like nectar."
"My dear," he said, "I have an awfully good friend, a monkey named Red-Face. He gives me these fruits in the most courteous manner."
Then she said: "If anyone eats such nectar fruit every day, his heart must be turned to nectar. So, if you value your wife, give me his heart, and I will eat it. Then I shall never grow old or sick, but will be a delightful companion for you."
But he objected: "In the first place, my dear, he is our adopted brother. Secondly, he gives us fruit. I cannot kill him. Please do not insist. Besides, there is a proverb:
To give us birth, we need a mother;
For second birth we need another:
And friendship's brothers seem by far
More dear than natural brothers are."
But she said: "You have never refused me before. So I am sure it is a she-monkey. You love her and spend the whole day with her. That is why you will not give me what I want. And when you meet me at night, your sighs are hot as a flame of fire. And when you hold me and kiss me, you do not hug me tight. I know some other woman has stolen into your heart."
Then the crocodile was quite dejected, and said to his wife:
When I am at your feet
And at your service, sweet,
Why do you look at me
With peevish jealousy?
But her face swam in tears when she heard him, and she said:
"You love her, you deceiver;
Your wishes never leave her;
Her pretty shamming steals upon your heart.
My rivalry is vain, sir;
And so I pray abstain, sir,
From service that is only tricky art.
"Besides, if you do not love her, why not kill her when I ask you? And if it is really a he-monkey, why should you love him? Enough! Unless I eat his heart, I shall starve myself to death in your house."
Now when he saw how determined she was, he was distracted with anxiety, and said: "Ah, the proverb is right:
Remember that a single grab
Suffices for a fish or crab,
For fool or woman; and it's so
For sot, cement, or indigo.
"Oh, what shall I do? How can I kill him?" With these thoughts in mind, he visited the monkey.
Now the monkey had missed his friend, and when he saw him afflicted, he said: "My friend, why have you not been here this long time? Why don't you speak cheerfully, and repeat something witty?"
The crocodile replied: "My friend and brother, my wife scolded me today. She said: 'You ungrateful wretch! Do not show me your face. You are living daily at a friend's expense, and make him no return. You do not even show him the door of your house. You cannot possibly make amends for this. There is a saying:
The Brahman-murderer or thief,
Drunkard or liar, finds relief;
While for ingratitude alone
No expiation will atone.
"'I regard this monkey as my brother-in-law. So bring him home, and we will make some return for his kindness. If you refuse, I will see you later in heaven.' Now I could not come to you until she had finished her scolding. And this long time passed while I was quarrelling with her about you. So please come home with me. Your brother's wife has set up an awning. She has fixed her clothes and gems and rubies and all that, to pay you a fitting welcome. She has hung holiday garlands on the doorposts. And she is waiting impatiently."
"My friend and brother," said the monkey, "your lady is very kind. It is quite according to the proverb:
Six things are done by friends:
To take, and give again;
To listen, and to talk;
To dine, to entertain.
"But we monkeys live in trees, and your home is in the water. How can I go there? Rather bring your lady here, brother, that I may bow down and receive her blessing."
The crocodile said: "My friend, our home is on a lovely sand-bank under the water. So climb on my back and travel comfortably with nothing to fear."
When the monkey heard this, he was delighted and said: "If that is possible, my friend, then hasten. Why delay? Here I am on your back."
But as he sat there and saw the crocodile swimming in the bottomless ocean, the monkey was terribly frightened and said: "Go slow, brother. My whole body is drenched by the great waves."
And the crocodile thought when he heard this: "If he fell from my back, he could not move an inch, the water is so deep. He is in my power. So I will tell him my purpose, and then he can pray to his favourite god."
And he said: "Sir, I have deceived you and brought you to your death, because my wife bade me do it. So pray to your favourite god."
"Brother," said the monkey, "what harm have I done her or you? Why have you planned to kill me?"
"Well," replied the crocodile, "those nectar fruits tasted so sweet that she began to long to eat your heart. That is why I have done this."
Then the quick-witted monkey said: "If that is the case, sir, why didn't you tell me on shore? For then I might have brought with me another heart, very sweet indeed, which I keep in a hole in the rose-apple tree. As it is, I am forlorn in this heart, at being taken to her in vain, without my sweet heart." When he heard this, the crocodile was delighted and said: "If you feel so, my friend, give me that other heart. And my cross wife will eat it and give up starving herself. Now I will take you back to the rose-apple tree."
So he turned back and swam toward the rose-apple tree, while the monkey murmured a hundred prayers to every kind of a god. And when at last he came to shore, he hopped and jumped farther and farther, climbed up the rose-apple tree, and thought: "Hurrah! My life is saved. Surely, the saying is a good one:
We dare not trust a rogue; nor must
We trust in those deserving trust:
For danger follows, and we fall
Destroyed and ruined, roots and all.
So today is my day of rebirth."
The crocodile said: "My friend and brother, give me the heart, so that my wife may eat it and give up starving herself."
Then the monkey laughed, and scolded him, saying:
"You fool! You traitor! How can anyone have two hearts? Go home, and never come back under the rose-apple tree. You know the proverb:
Whoever trusts a faithless friend
And twice in him believes,
Lays hold on death as certainly
As when a mule conceives."
Now the crocodile was embarrassed when he heard this, and he thought: "Oh, why was I such a fool as to tell him my plan? If I can possibly win his confidence again, I will do it." So he said: "My friend, she has no need of a heart. What I said was just a joke to test your sentiments. Please come to our house as a guest. Your brother's wife is most eager for you."
The monkey said: "Rascal! Go away this moment. I will not come. For
The hungry man at nothing sticks;
The poor man has his heartless tricks.
Tell Handsome, miss, that Theodore
Will see him in the well no more."
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of
Handsome and Theodore.*
"So then, you rascally water-beast! Like Theodore, I will never, never enter your house."
When he heard this, the crocodile said: "My good friend, you are quite wrong. I beg of you to come to my house, and so wipe out my sin of ingratitude. Otherwise, I shall starve myself to death on your doorstep."
"You fool!" said the monkey, "shall I go there like Flop-Ear, in full sight of the danger, and let myself be killed?"
"But who was Flop-Ear?" asked the crocodile. "And how did he perish in full sight of the danger? Please tell me." So the monkey told the story of
Flop-Ear and Dusty.*
"And that is why I say that I shall not be like the donkey Flop-Ear. You see, you foolish fellow, you played a trick, but spoiled it by telling the truth, just like Fight-Firm. The saying is correct:
The heedless trickster who forgets
His own advantage, and who lets
The truth slip out, like Fight-Firm, he
Is sure to lose his victory."
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of
The Potter Militant.*
"And that is why I say:
The heedless trickster who forgets
His own advantage, and who lets
The truth slip out, like Fight-Firm, he
Is sure to lose his victory."
Oh, fool, fool! To undertake such a thing for your wife! Never trust a woman. You must have heard the pat little anecdote:
I left my family for her;
I gave her half my life;
She leaves me now without a thought;
What man can trust his wife?"
"How was that?" asked the crocodile, and the monkey told the story of The Ungrateful Wife.*
"And that is why I say:
I left my family for her;
I gave her half my life;
She leaves me now without a thought;
What man can trust his wife?"
Then the monkey continued: "There is another little anecdote that is very pat:
What will not man for woman do,
When heads are shorn - at odd times, too?
What will not man for woman say,
When those who are not horses, neigh?"
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of
King Joy and Secretary Splendour.*
"You simpleton! You too are henpecked just like Joy and Splendour. You tried to find a means of killing me, because your wife asked it. But you were betrayed by your own speech. Yes, the proverb is right:
The parrots and the grackle birds
Are caged because they utter words:
The stupid herons go scot-free -
For silence is a master-key.
And again:
However skilful in disguise,
However frightful to the eyes,
Although in tiger-skin arrayed,
The ass was killed - because he brayed."
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of
The Donkey in the Tiger-Skin.*
"And that is why I say:
However skilful in disguise,
However frightful to the eyes,
Although in tiger-skin arrayed,
The ass was killed - because he brayed."
Now while the monkey was telling these stories to the crocodile, another water-beast came up and said: "Friend crocodile, your wife has starved herself to death."
When the crocodile heard this, he was bewildered in spirit, and lamented: "Oh, what has come upon me, upon hapless me? For the proverb says:
Where a mother does not dwell
And a wife who flatters well,
Better leave the house, and roam
Forests not so wild as home.
Oh, my friend! Forgive my sins toward you. For I have lost her, and I plan to burn myself alive."
When the monkey heard this, he laughed and said: "Come now! I knew from the very beginning that you were henpecked and in leading-strings. And this proves it. You dunderhead! You despair when you ought to be happy. When a wife like that dies, you ought to give a party. For the proverb says:
A wife forever nagging
And falling in a rage,
Is not a wife, say sages,
But premature old age.
Therefore with patient effort
Avoid the very name
Of every earthly woman,
If comfort be your aim.
For what she feels, she does not say;
She speaks and looks a different way;
Far from her looks her actions veer:
Oh, woman, woman! You are queer.
But enough!
One fact suffices. Cite no more!
They kill the children that they bore.
And yet:
Though girls are tasteless, hard, and selfish,
Boys think them sweet and soft and elfish."
"True enough," said the crocodile, "but what am I to do? Two calamities have befallen me. First, my home is ruined. And second, I have quarrelled with my friend. Yet so it goes with the unfortunate. You know the stanza:
The cleverness that you have shown,
You naked thing! is twice my own;
Your husband and your lover fair
Are lost. But why this vacant stare?"
"How was that?" asked the monkey. And the crocodile told the story of
The Farmer's Wife.*
While the crocodile was telling this story, a second water-beast arrived and reported: "Alas! Your house has been occupied by another crocodile - a big fellow."
And the crocodile became despondent on hearing this, anxiously considering how to drive him from the house. "Alas, my friends!" said he. "See how unlucky I am. For you must know,
A stranger occupies my house;
My friend is sadly vexed;
On top of that, my wife is dead.
Oh, what will happen next?
"How true it is that misfortunes never come singly! Well, shall I fight him? Or shall I address him with soft conciliation, and get him out of the house? Or shall I try intrigue? Or bribery? Ah, here is my monkey friend. I will ask him. For the proverb says:
Ask aid of kindly teachers, man,
The kind you ought to ask.
Their counsel leads to sure success,
Whatever be your task."
After these reflections, he put the question to the monkey, who had climbed back into the rose-apple tree. "Oh, my friend," said he, "see how unlucky I am. For now my very house is seized and held by a powerful crocodile. Therefore I put it to you. Tell me, what am I to do? Is this the place for soft conciliation or one of the other three devices?"
But the monkey said: "You ungrateful wretch! Why do you still pursue me, though I asked you not to? You are a fool, therefore I will not even give you good advice. For the proverb says:
Give counsel only when it fits
To such as seek the best.
The foolish monkey broke to bits
The sparrow's cosy nest.
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of
The Pert Hen-Sparrow.*
"And that is why I say:
Give counsel only when it fits
To such as seek the best.
The foolish monkey broke to bits
The sparrow's cosy nest.
Then the crocodile said: "Oh, my friend, I did wrong, but please remember our old friendship and give me good advice."
"I will not tell you a thing," said the monkey, "because you took your wife's advice and carried me out to sea in order to drop me in. However much you love your wife, why throw friends, relatives, and such into the ocean just because she asks it?"
And the crocodile answered: "My dear fellow, it is all true. Yet consider the maxim, 'Seven words make friendship,' and give me a bit of good advice. For there is a saying:
Disaster cannot threaten
The man of sterling worth
Who offers helpful counsel -
In heaven, or on earth.
So, though I did you a wrong, I beg you to show forgiveness by giving good advice. You know the proverb:
And is there any saintlihood
In recompensing good with good?
But worthy men go seeking still
The saints returning good for ill."
Then the monkey said: "Well, well, my good fellow, I advise you to go and fight him. For there is a saying:
Sway patrons with obeisance;
In heroes raise a doubt;
Fling petty bribes to flunkeys;
With equals, fight it out."
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told How Supersmart Ate the Elephant.*
"Just so you, too, should fight it out with a natural enemy, one of your own race, and send him to the horizon. If you don't, he will presently strike his roots deep and will destroy you. You know the saying:
From cows expect subsistence;
From Brahmans, self-denial;
From women, fickle conduct;
From relatives, a trial.
"And the further saying:
The food is very good to eat
And does not lack variety;
While easy-going women meet
You in the town's society:
But kinsmen in that foreign street
Are wanting in sobriety."
"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of
The Dog Who Went Abroad.*
So the crocodile, having received his friend's advice, resolved to die if need be, said farewell to the monkey, and went to his own house. There he joined battle with the desperate ruffian who had forced a way in, put his reliance in resolute valour, and killed him. So he recovered his home and lived there happily for a long time.
Yes, the proverb is right:
Shun pleasant days that listless pass,
The joy that hides
In sloth. For deer can eat the grass
That fate provides.
Here ends Book 4, called "Loss of Gains." The first verse runs:
Blind folly always has to pay
For giving property away
Because of blandishments and guile -
The monkey tricked the crocodile.
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