Chinna Katha: New Fable: Crow and fox - Vishnu

[Guest guest]

New Fable: Crow and fox

 

A crow perched in a tree with a piece of meat held in its beak. A fox, seeing this, longed to possess the meat himself, and sought to succeed by a wily stratagem. "How handsome is the Crow," he exclaimed, "in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion! Oh, if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen of Birds!" This he said deceitfully; the crow, amused by the transparent machinations of the fox, placed the piece of meat carefully under its paw and set up a loud caw.

 

The startled fox however refused to give up. "How handsome is the Crow," he exclaimed, "in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion! And truly her voice equals her beauty! If only she were able to dance, she would undoubtedly be the most graceful of all the birds!" The crow then carefully retrieved the piece of meat with its beak and twirled on the branch.

 

The fox, frustrated in its attempts to cheat the crow of its meat, tried again. "How handsome is the Crow," he exclaimed, "in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion! And truly her voice equals her beauty! And her dance so graceful! It would put the rest of the birds to shame if only she were able to dance and sing, truly a one crow act!" The crow patiently reached up to a higher branch and, carefully placing its meat on it, cawed loudly while it twirled on the branch it stood on. The defeated fox slunk away in shame at being outdone by the crow.

The crow in this fable is analogous to intellect (Buddhi), the meat analogous to the indiscreet mind (Manasu), and the fox analogous to the mundane attractions (Vishaya Vanchas) of the mercenary world. Where the intellect controls desire, mercenary transient concerns fade away into nothingness. But where desire outwits intellect, life is governed by a series of transient, unfulfilling concerns.