The Tiger said,

"Harken, O traveller! Formerly, indeed, in
the state of youth I was very mischievous.
Because I slaughtered many cows, Brahmins, and
men, my children all died, and my wife also. I
am now without a family. A certain religious
person exhorted me to practise the virtue of
liberality. By his advice I am now generous
and merciful; I practise ablutions; I am besides
very old— my teeth and claws are decayed;
surely you may trust me. It is written,
'Sacrifice, sacred study, almsgiving, pious austerity,
truth, fortitude, patience, disinterestedness, are
the eightfold course of duty. The first four of
these are sometimes practised for ostentation,
but the last four can only dwell in the magnanimous
breast.' I am now so free from selfishness
that I am willing to give to any one a
bracelet of gold. And yet the old saying, 'The
tiger devours men,' is still believed. I have
studied religious books. Listen to what is
written: 'As rain on parched ground, so is
food to the famishing. As life is dear to oneself,
so are those of all beings.' Thou art in distress,
therefore I am anxious to give to thee, for it is
written, ' Nourish the poor, and bestow not a
gift, upon the rich.' Therefore fear not, bathe
in this lake, and after that take this bracelet of
gold."

The traveller took confidence and entered the
lake to bathe, but immediately fell into a great
quagmire, out of which he could not escape.

The Tiger, seeing him in the mud, said:

"Ha! ha! thou art in a great slough, I will
lift thee out."

Whereupon he slowly drew near, and, the
traveller being seized by the Tiger, reflected:

"It was not well done in me to place confidence
in a Tiger."

While thus reflecting, he was killed and
devoured. Wherefore said Speckled-Neck:

"An act not thoroughly deliberated upon
ought not to be done."

But one of the pigeons, after listening
impatiently, said haughtily:

"All meat and drink on the face of the earth
is beset with causes of apprehension. When
then ought one to act? or how is life to be
supported? Surely in eating there is no need
of permission?"

Having heard this, all the pigeons alighted;
for covetousness is the cause of sin.

They were presently caught in the net, and
then all the birds began to abuse him at whose
suggestion they had fallen into trouble; but
Speckled-Neck, the king, hearing this, said:

"It is not his fault. Even a friend becomes
an aggravation of descending calamities, as the
leg of the mother at milking time becomes a
post for the tying of the calf. He is a friend
who can rescue from misfortune, not he who
rails at a plan for the salvation of those in
jeopardy. Wherefore, with one accord, let us all
take hold of the net and fly away."

The birds, all rising at once under the net,
flew away with it, and having got out of sight of
the fowler, they said:

"Master, what is now proper to be done?"

Speckled-Neck, the king, replied:

"My friend, Hiranyaka, king of the Mice,
dwells in a charming wood on the banks of the
Gandaki; by the force of his teeth he will cut
our snare."

So they all went to the burrow of Hiranyaka,
who being an old Mouse, skilled in the science
of policy, and foreseeing danger before it arrived,
dwelt in a hole with a hundred outlets. He was
startled at the descent of the pigeons and the
net, and stood silent. Speckled-Neck called
out:

"Friend Hiranyaka, will you not speak to
us?"

Upon which the king of the Mice,
recognising his friend's voice, rushed forward in
haste.

"Oh, how happy am I that my dear friend
Speckled-Neck is come!" But when he saw
the pigeons all caught in the snare, he quickly
ran to gnaw the bonds of his friend Speckled- Neck, but Speckled-Neck said to him:

"Not so, friend; first cut the bonds of these
my dependents."

"I am weak," said Hiranyaka, "and my
teeth are brittle, how then can I gnaw their
bonds? I will first set thee free, and then, to
the best of my ability, I will cut the bonds of
the others also."

But Speckled-Neck said:

"My friend, I am unable to endure the
distress of those under my protection. A wise man
should resign riches, and even life, for the sake
of others  a sacrifice for the sake of good is
the best thing, since death must inevitably
come."

Hiranyaka, on hearing this, was delighted,
and his hair erect with joy. He exclaimed:

"Noble friend! By this tenderness for thy
dependents the sovereignty even of the three
regions of the universe is suited to thee!"

When he had said this, he gnawed all their
bonds asunder and set all the pigeons free.
Then Hiranyaka, having performed the rites of
hospitality and embraced them, he dismissed
them. Speckled-Neck and his companions
departed for those countries where his inclinations
led him, and Hiranyaka to his hole.

Then the crow, Light-Falling, who had been a
spectator of the whole transaction, exclaimed,
with astonishment, "Ho! Hiranyaka, thou art
to be praised. Henceforth I desire also to form
a friendship with thee; thou must therefore
favour me with thy friendship."

When Hiranyaka heard this, he called out
(still keeping within his hole),

"Halloa! who art thou?"

"I am a crow," said the other, "named Light-
Falling."

"Then," said Hiranyaka, langhing, "what
friendship can there be with thee? For I am the
food, you are the eater; how can intimacy
subsist between us? Friendship between the food
and the feeder is assuredly a cause of misfortune.
A Deer, who had been caught in a snare through
the artifice of a Jackal, was rescued by a Crow."