Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 479

THE CROW AND THE OWLS
439
The moral of the second fable of the Pancha-tantra is to
show the advantages of union and friendship among the
weak in times of trouble or danger. It tells the story of
a dove, a rat, a raven, a gazelle, and a tortoise, who, by
simply helping one another, escaped the greatest dangers.
The third fable tells the story of the crows and the owls.
It sets forth the dangers to which a person is exposed by
confiding his private affairs to those whose character he is
not well acquainted with, or to those who, after having for
a long time been avowed enemies, return under the deceitful
mask of friendship. It relates how a crow, by his cunning
and hypocrisy, succeeded in stealing his way into the society
of owls, the declared enemies of his race, and in winning
their entire confidence.
Thereupon, the crow made the
best of this opportunity to study their habits, their re-
sources, and their strong and weak points, until he was
able to devise a safe means of attacking and exterminating
them. For instance, he soon found out that their common
abode was a vast cave, which possessed only one entrance.
He also discovered that his hated foes experienced insur-
mountable difficulty in facing the light of the sun. Fur-
nished with this valuable information, he hastened to
convene a general meeting of the crows. He counselled
them all to take in their beaks as much straw, twigs, and
other combustible material as they could carry and to
follow him quietly.
Accordingly some thousands of his
fellows spread their wings and arrived at midday near the
cave, where the owls, their enemies, were slumbering in
fancied security.
The crows heaped up before the entrance
of the cave the inflammable material they had brought
with them and set fire to it all. The majority of the owls
were instantly suffocated by the smoke, while those which
attempted to fly away perished in the flames.
A monkey
and a crocodile are the characters represented
It illustrates the dangers to which
one is exposed by associating with wicked persons whose
friendship and affection, however sincere they may appear
in the fourth fable.
to be to start with, result sooner or later in treachery,
especially if their own interests are at stake.
This is the
attitude manifested by the crocodile towards his friend,
the monkey, who had reposed the utmost confidence in