Tibetan Folk Tales | Page 6

to His Own Deceit
Between the official and his people is confidence if the head-man is
skillful.
Tibetan Proverb.
ONCE upon a time, away up in the corner of the mountains, in a little
cave, lived a tiger and her baby cub. She had brought for this baby, one
day when she was out hunting, a little fox to be his playmate. The fox
had a happy time and an easy one, for he didn't have to work or hunt,
but played all day and the mother tiger kept them all supplied with food.
One day she went out to hunt and found a little calf, which she took
home to be another playmate for her son. But the fox was much
displeased and became very jealous of the calf because he thought they
all loved the calf better than he and that only the food that was left over
was given to him. As a matter of fact, they treated him just the same as
ever, but his heart was wrong and he began to plan how he might be
revenged on the calf. After a while, the mother tiger became very ill,
and as she was about to die she called the calf and her son to her side
and said, "Although you are not of the same father and mother, yet you
are brothers. I don't want you to ever quarrel, but to live happily here
together, and if any one should tell you lies don't pay any attention to
them, but always be friends." So saying, she died.
Now the fox saw his opportunity. Every morning the calf was in the
habit of running and playing and jumping and shaking his horns in fun,
bellowing and taking exercise, while the tiger preferred to lie and rest.

So one morning while the calf was skipping around, the fox slipped up
to the tiger and said, "Although the calf says he is your friend, have you
any idea what he is thinking about, when he runs and jumps and shakes
his horns in that manner? In his heart he hates you, and in that manner
is gaining strength in order that he may be able to kill you."
This, of course, made the tiger suspicious and very angry. So daily he
watched the calf very closely and became sour and surly.
Then the fox went to the calf and said, "You know your mother told
you and the tiger that you were to be brothers, but see, he is growing
larger and stronger every day and his heart has changed and he is
preparing to kill and eat you."
The tiger and the calf were now enemies and watched each other with a
great deal of suspicion and were very unhappy. Finally one day the calf
said to the tiger, "Why do you want to kill me and eat me? I have done
you no harm and love you just as your mother said I should."
The tiger replied, "I love you just the same and never thought of doing
such a thing until the fox said you were preparing to kill me."
Then they realized that the fox had been trying to make them enemies,
and they decided on a plan to get even with the fox. The tiger said, "I'll
tell you what we'll do. We'll have a sham fight saying we hate each
other and we're going to fight it out and see who wins. Ask him to be
present and while we're in the midst of it, I'll attack him."
The day came and they began their fight. They maneuvered round and
round and seemed to be fighting very fiercely until they came very near
the fox, when the tiger made a jump, landed on him and killed him and
sat down and had a feast of the carcass.
This shows what happens to those who try to make trouble between
friends.
***

SEVEN
The Ingratitude of Man
Whatever you have promised make it not as changeable as a loop in a
string, but as firm as a line on a rock.
Tibetan Proverb.
ONCE upon a time in a far, far away land, in a very high, high land,
when the old world was very, very young and animals and men spoke
and lived together, such a thing as gratitude was known.
Away in the mountains was a narrow road that passed along the side of
a deep chasm. It was a dangerous place to travel, and along this path
one night, just at dark, when a man, a crow, a rat and a snake were
walking along together, a part of the road gave way and they fell into
the depths below. They were not hurt, but much shaken, and they sat
there waiting