Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 480

THE BRAHMIN AND
440
HLS
MONGOOSE
The monkey, however, succeeds
in evading by his
cunning the treacherous plot which the crocodile devised
him.
for his destruction.
The
about a Brahmin and his mongoose, and
the imprudence of judging rashly by appear-
A Brahmin once possessed a mongoose, to which
ances.
his wife and himself were very much attached.
The same
Brahmin had a child which was still in the cradle. One
day, being obliged to leave the house on some very pressing
business, and there being nobody to take care of the child,
the Brahmin entrusted it to his mongoose, telling the little
animal that it would have to answer with its life for any
accident that might happen to the infant during his absence.
As soon as the Brahmin had gone out, the mongoose took
up its place quite close to the cradle, determined to perish
rather than permit the slightest injury to the precious being
entrusted to its care. Now it happened that a huge snake
had, unobserved, found its way into the house by a crevice
in the wall.
Issuing from its hiding-place, it approached
the cradle and prepared to attack the child. The mon-
goose no sooner perceived the frightful reptile than it
rushed furiously upon it, and, after a long and painful
struggle, seized it by the throat, strangled it, and in its
rage tore it to pieces.
Soon afterwards the Brahmin re-
turned.
The mongoose, recognizing the voice of its master,
ran to him and tried to express its joy by rolling at his
feet, playfully biting at his legs, snowing indeed every
manifestation of delight at having performed such a brave
deed.
The Brahmin, however, having carefully examined
the mongoose, and finding it covered with the blood which
had flowed from the wounds of the serpent, rashly con-
cluded that the blood could only be that of his infant
child, whom, as he thought, the mongoose had killed
and, in a fit of rage, he seized a thick stick which was
close by and killed the poor animal on the spot.
However, what were his grief and despair when on
entering the room where he had left his child, he found it
calmly sleeping while around the cradle were the scattered
remains of the huge snake which the mongoose had just-
killed
He bitterly reproached himself for his imprudence
and rashness, but, alas too late and was grieved sorely
fifth fable is
illustrates
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