English
But their attraction lies rather in a unique mixture of subtle humour, cunning make-belief, and earnestness ; in the piquancy of the contrast between the humorous in- congruities and impossibilities of the details, and the real serious earnestness, never absent but always latent, of the ethical tone. They never raise a boisterous laugh : only a quiet smile of delighted appreciation ; and they leave a pleasant aroma behind them. To the child-mind the impossibilities are no impos- sibilities at all, they are merely delightful. And these quaint old-world stories will con- tinue to appeal to children, young and old, as they have done, the world over, through the long centuries of the past. T. W. Rhys Davids. CONTENTS PAGE Preface .......... v Foreword. By Prof. T. W. Rhys Davids ix The Buddha (To Be) as Lion : illustrating The Folly of Panic The Buddha (To Be) as one of the Gods : illustrating The Punishment of Hypocrisy .... 9 The Buddha (To Be) as Hare : illustrating The True Spirit of a Festival Day . . .1" The Buddha (To Be) as Osprey : illustrating The Power of Friendship ..... 25 The Buddha (To Be) as King : illustrating The True Meaning of Giving ..... 38 The Buddha (To Be) as Parrot : illustrating Filial Piety . . . . . . . .41 The Buddha (To Be) as Merchant : illustrating The Value of Perseverance ..... 49 The Buddha (To Be) as Dealer in Tin : illustrating The Power of Honesty ...... 55 XV XVI CONTENTS The Buddha (To Be) as King : illustrating The Folly of Greed ...... 63 The Buddha (To Be) as Minister : illustrating The Strength of Friendship among Animals . G9 The Buddha (To Be) as Bull : illustrating The Value of Kindness 75 The Buddha (To Be) as Bull : illustrating Gratitude and Filial Affection .... 83 The Buddha (To Be) as Brahmin : illustrating The Power of Kind Thoughts .... 89 The Buddha (To Be) as Tree-Spirit : illustrating Our Duty to the Next Generation ... 97 The Buddha (To Be) as Wise Minister : illustrating Our Duty towards the Worthy Old of the Community . . . . . . . .103 The Buddha (To Be) as Horse : illustrating The Strength which comes with Fixity of Purpose 109 The Buddha (To Be) as Mallard : illustrating The Punishment of Cupidity 117 The Buddha as Physician or Comforter : illustrating The Power of Sorrow to enlarge Sympathy and Understanding . . . . . . .121 General Note 124 Notes on the Stories ,.,.,,, 125 THE FOLLY OF PANIC THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS LION : ILLUSTRATING THE FOLLY OF PANIC And it came to pass that the Buddha (to be) was born again as a Lion. Just as he had helped his fellow-men, he now began to help his fellow-animals, and there was a great deal to be done. For instance, there was a little nervous Hare who was always afraid that something dreadful was going to happen to her. She was always saying : " Suppose the Earth were to fall in, what would happen to me ? " And she said this so often that at last she thought it really was about to happen. One day, when she had been saying over and over again, " Suppose the Earth were to fall in, what would happen to me ? " she heard a slight noise : it really was only a heavy fruit which had fallen upon a rustling leaf, but the little Hare was so nervous she was ready to believe anything, and she said in a 3 4 BUDDHA (TO BE) AS LION frightened tone: "The Earth is falling in." She ran away as fast as she could go, and presently she met an old brother Hare, who said : " Where are you running to, Mistress Hare ? " And the little Hare said : " I have no time to stop and tell you anything. The Earth is falling in, and I am running away." "The Earth is falling in, is it?" said the old brother Hare, in a tone of much astonish- ment ; and he repeated this to his brother hare, and he to his brother hare, and he to his brother hare, until at last there were a hundred thousand brother hares, all shouting: "The Earth is falling in." Now presently the bigger animals began to take the cry up. First the deer, and then the sheep, and then the wild boar, and then the buffalo, and then the camel, and then the tiger, and then the elephant. Now the wise Lion heard all this noise and wondered at it. " There are no signs," he said, " of the Earth falling in. They must have heard something." And then he stopped them all short and said : " What is this you are saying ? " THE FOLLY OF PANIC 5 And the Elephant said : " I remarked that the Earth was falling in." " How do you know this ? " asked the Lion. " Why, now I come to think of it, it was the Tiger that remarked it to me." And the Tiger said : " / had it from the Camel," and the Camel said : " / had it from the Buffalo. " And the buffalo from the wild boar, and the wild boar from the sheep, and the sheep from the deer, and the deer from the hares, and the Hares said : " Oh ! we heard it from that little Hare." And the Lion said : " Little Hare, what made you say that the Earth was falling in?" And the little Hare said : " I saw it." " You saw it ? " said the Lion. " Where ? " " Yronder, by that tree." " Well," said the Lion, " come with me and I will show you how " " No, no," said the Hare, " I would not go near that tree for anything, I'm so nervous." " But," said the Lion, " I am going to take you on my back." And he took her on his back, and begged the animals to stay 6 BUDDHA (TO BE) AS LION where they were until they returned. Then he showed the little Hare how the fruit had fallen upon the leaf, making the noise that had frightened her, and she said : " Yes, I see — the Earth is not falling in." And the Lion said : " Shall we go back and tell the other animals ? " And they went back. The little Hare stood before the animals and said : " The Earth is not falling in." And all the animals began to repeat this to one another, and they dispersed gradually, and you heard the words more and more softly : "The Earth is not falling in," etc., etc., etc., until the sound died away altogether. Note. — This story I have told in my own words, using the language I have found most effective for very young children. THE PUNISHMENT OF HYPOCRISY THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS ONE OF THE GODS : ILLUSTRATING THE PUNISHMENT OF HYPOCRISY On one occasion four divine beings made their appearance on the Earth to attend a festival of the Gods. And they bore in their hands wreaths of the strangest flowers that had ever been seen, and those around asked : " What are these flowers ? " And the Gods made answer and said : " These divine flowers are fit for those possessed of great powers : for the base, the foolish, the faithless, the sinful beings within the world of men, they are not fitted. But, whosoever amongst men is endued with certain virtues — to them is due the honour of wearing these flowers. 9 10 BUDDHA (TO BE) AS ONE OF THE GODS "He who steals no thing from another, Who uttereth no lie, Who doth not lose his head at the height of Fame — He may wear the flowers." Now there was a certain false Teacher or Priest who thought to himself: "I do not possess one of these qualities, but, by appear- ing to possess them, I shall obtain permission to wear the wreaths, and the people will believe that I really am what I appear to be, and they will place their confidence in me." Then, with exceeding boldness, he came to the first of the Gods and exclaimed with great solemnity : " Behold, / am en- dowed with these qualities of which you speak— " I have stolen from no man, never have I uttered a lie, nor has fame ever caused me to be proud or haughty." And when he had uttered these words, the wreath was placed upon his brow. And, emboldened by his success, he came with the same pride and confidence into the presence of the second God, and asked that the second wreath should be bestowed upon him. THE PUNISHMENT OF HYPOCRISY 11 And the God said : " He who earns wealth honestly, and shuns dishonest means, Who takes but sparingly of the Cup of Pleasure, To him shall be awarded this second wreath.