Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/272

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216
ORIENTAL FABLES

"Shame on you, false friend!" replied the Monkey. "Is there any one in the world with two hearts? Take yourself off and never come back! For anybody who is fool enough to make friends with a traitor is deserving of death."

(Panchatantra. Vol. IV. Chapter 1.)


THE FROG AND THE SERPENT

IN a certain Well there once dwelt a King of Frogs, named Gangadatta. One day, being much harassed by his Heirs, he climbed into the bucket and by help of the wheel ascended little by little from the Well. And all the while he was thinking, "How shall I punish these troublesome Heirs of mine?" While he was still meditating, he saw a Black Serpent, named Priyadarsana, just entering his hole. No sooner did Gangadatta see the Serpent than he thought, "If I take this Black Serpent back to my Well, I shall be able to destroy all my Heirs."

So thinking, Gangadatta went to the mouth of the hole and called to the Serpent, "Come here, Priyadarsana, come here!" When the Serpent heard himself called, he said to himself, "Whoever calls me is certainly not one of my species, for this is not the voice of a Serpent. I have no ties of friendship with any other creature in the world. So I am going to stick close to my stronghold, until I see who it can be that is calling me."

Accordingly the Serpent called out, from deep within the hole, "Hello! Who is there?"

The Frog replied, "I am King of the Frogs, named Gangadatta, and I have come to form a friendship with you."