These are my favorite stories I had the opertunity to read this week. They are all from the Twenty Jataka Tales
This is the tale of a human king and a monkey king. The Monkey King's kindom was on a treasure tree that has the best fruit. The human king was jealous of the monkeys and wanted to attack them to steal their fruit. However, in the midst of chaos, the Monkey King showed great nobility and his leadership qualities impressed the human king. In the end, the Monkey King sacrificed himself for his kingdom and the humans honored the Monkey King's life.
The Guilty Dogs
Once, in the middle of the night, there was a group of dog that went and set fire to the palace chariots. When the King heard about this, he ordered every dog to be killed. However, a cheif informed him that the guilty ones were the palace dogs and the innocent should be punished for th evil deeds of few.
Banyan
There once was a king that loved hunting Deer. When he came across two Deer kings, he granted them their lives. When the two went back to their herd, they saw that the herd had either died or been injured. The kings decided to start sacrificing their members one by one so that less deaths would occur. One day when a young mother was suppose to go die, the King of the Banyan Deer took her place. When the king saw how the Banyan Deer King would sacrifice himself, he was impressed and promised never to hunt the Deer again.
The Fairy and the Hare
Once there were four furry friends that promised to give whatever food they found to the poor. The jackal, a water-weasel and the monkey found some food and when an old traveler came by, all of them offered their foods. However, when the man came to the hare, the hare had nothing to offer, so he offered himself. However, the old man was actually a fairy in disguise, so when the hare jumped in the flames, it did not burn him.
The Master's Test
Once there was a master that wanted pupils to go steal because the master was poor and weak. One of the two pupils was ready to follow through, but the other hesitated. The master had meant this to be a test of character and the one that refused to follow through passed.
Bibliography: Twenty Jaraka Tales by Noor Inayat (Khan)
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