PANCHATANTRA TALES RETOLD
1.CROCODILE AND THE MONKEY –
A TALE OF TREACHERY
The verse – Blind folly always has to pay
For giving property away
Because of blandishment and guile
The monkey tricked the crocodile

In the outskirts of the sleepy small village Mithilapur was this pond having emerald green water. The pond for long was undisturbed except for some stray cattle of village coming over to sip few bouts of cool water in the summer months. The pond was surrounded by huge overhanging lush green trees. . A lot many animals had made the trees their home. There were squirrels, huge garden lizards, chameleons, a number of birds like mynas, crows, sparrows, parakeets which used to come in droves as the sunsets settling in the branches of the verdant trees for the night. Their lived among them a black faced friendly monkey called Chotu.

Chotu was ever frolicking in the trees, jumping from branch to branch and moving from tree to tree. He knew like the back of his palm every tree around the pond. He collected the tasty fruits in the trees and made a meal for himself whenever hungry. Now in the grove was a very unusual tree bearing fiery red fruit called `Naga ratna pazam’. The juicy red fruit was as sweet as nectar giving out a heady aroma, Chotu considered himself singularly fortunate to climb the branches of the slender tree and have the fruits to his hearts content.

Now in the same pond lived Sambha the majestic crocodile and his pretty wife Soni.
While Soni kept home right under the sandy `guha’ under the water, Sambha went on its rounds every morning bringing back always something interesting for Soni to have. Sometimes it will be a toad, sometimes a fat fish or a couple of turtles for his dear wife to have. On its rounds Sambha never failed to come to the shore and bask under the sun below the patio of the verdant trees in the bank. It was here he met Chotu the monkey.

Chotu was always in awe of this handsome crocodile. It used to watch from the top of a tree how the crocodile used to swim stealthily and noiselessly under the water, only a shadow of its well carved scales will be seen till it emerges gradually out of the water with out making any ripples and move on the sand with its stout fat legs very quietly and lay their in the mid morning sun exposing its well formed steel black scales. He will lie there like a statue for hours on end. Sitting on the branch of the tree Chotu always used to get doubt if Sambha is alive or dead seeing how still it was. Later did Chotu notice it was just a ploy to catch its prey. Just when a frog around feels fully safe to come near Sambha, you can see him in action. Its tail twitching slightly it used to make swift move and catch the prey in jiffy and ever so swiftly take a turn and dive in to the water and vanish. Thus as still it was, it could be swift too felt Chotu.

One day Chotu was sitting in his favorite tree and having one of the fiery red `Naga rathna pazam’, Shambha was lying below doing its prey catching antics; the fruit slipped from Chotus hand and fell near Sambha. Sambha dived for it mistaking it as a prey and had a bite. The juicy fruit caught its fancy. It rolled it in the mouth, chewed it and found it simply delicious. It looked up with a friendly smile to Chotu and asked for another. Chotu readily obliged and plucked another one yet another one while Sambha kept on having to its hearts content. Thus their friendship got started. Now everyday Sambha and Chotu met at the appointed time and after initial exchange of pleasantries, Chotu plucked the fruits from the trees and sambha ate them with gratitude.

Now we know Sambha had this habit of taking some choice food to its pretty wife Soni.
Sambha now started taking these juicy Nagaratnam Pazam’s to Soni everyday. Soni had never eaten anything like that in her life. She ate it with great relish and started looking forward to Sambhas arrival eagerly every day. However this pretty Soni was not only pretty but also petty. She had a narrow selfish mind. One day in her narrow mind she got a brilliant idea or so she thought.
She told Sambha, `Dear husband Do you love me very much?’
`Of course my dear, I love you very much, much more than anything else in the world and I can do anything for you’ told Sambha chivalrously.

Now Soni coyly came near sambha hugged him fondly and expressed her mind
`Sambha dear you are everyday bringing for me the delicious Naga rathna Pazam.You told me about Chotu your friend who has been eating these fruits for a very long time. I am having an uncontrollable desire to taste the heart of your monkey friend, which must be pure nectar. Wont you grant this small wish of mine, don’t ever disappoint me giving no as an answer’ so telling Soni went in to her enclave and refused to come out
in spite of Sambhas repeated pleading.

Sambha was heart broken. On one side he liked his friend Chotu but his love for his wife was something blind. He felt he couldn’t live with his dear Soni getting angry with him and not talking to him. He spent a restless night and was constantly thinking how he can grant his wife’s wishes. As the day broke and suns rays started penetrating deep into the emerald green water in the pond and slowly making it warm, gradually so a plot started getting hatched into Sambhas head. He got up looked around for his dear Soni for a morning tea and some frolicking, as it was usual before he left for his morning jaunts. But Soni was nowhere to be seen sulking inside her `guha’. Sambha left home with a heavy heart determined to please his dear Soni at any cost.

He surfaced out of the water in his usual place and there was Chotu ever eagerly waiting for him. Chotu immediately noticed the crest fallen face of Sambha.
Chotu greeted him warmly. Good morning Sambha my friend, What makes you not your cheerful self today’
Sambha could not look straight at his friend, he averted his eyes and replied `My dear friend, I have been thinking about the request made by my dear wife. After eating the Nagaratna fruits send by you every day, she has developed a great feeling of affection for you. She wishes you to come home, as she wants to receive you and honor you. But I was thinking how you could come to our house deep and away in the midst of the green water which you are not familiar with.

Hearing this Chotu was indeed very much disturbed. He thought here is my dear friend and his wife calling me so affectionately to their house, I must find away out, I can’t see my friend unhappy as this.
Chotu rose to the situation and told ` Sambha my friend Let it not worry you. I will come to your house front, I have a way out. I will sit in the broad back of yours, which is so much like a boat; you can take me close to your house. Your wife can come up and greet me and thus I can make her also happy ‘, so saying Chotu went to his favorite tree and collected lot of the juicy Nagarathnam fruits and climbed on his friends back and told him `Friend let us not waste any more time. Let us go and meet your dear wife who is my `babhi’ and make her happy’.

Sambha chuckled within himself that his plan worked so well and swiftly. He took Chotu in the back and started swimming in the water. As they moved few meters from the bank and coming to deeper parts of the pond, the crocodile could not hold it any more. He turned back and told Chotu, `My friend I am very fond of you so let me speak the truth now; I am of course taking you at the request of my dear wife Soni. But it is not to honor you as I told you, it is in fact to eat your juicy heart which no doubt will be like a nectar after eating for so long the red juicy fruits of Naga rathna pazam, so feels my dear wife’.

Chotu was shocked for a while hearing this treacherous plan of his so-called dear friend. But Chotu was clever and quick in thinking. Immediately he thought of an escape plan. He knew Sambha is a bit slow witted. He nudged Sambha and told him `my dear friend, I am no doubt shocked hearing this plan of yours. However even I have to confess you some thing. I am blessed with two hearts. One the nectar filled one and another an ordinary one. Presently I have kept the nectar filled one, which you are seeking safely in my abode high in the trees and I am here with you in my ordinary heart. I am afraid your wife will be disappointed to have me with this heart and your intention of pleasing her will be in vain. So I suggest you get back to the banks and allow me to procure the sweet one for you’.

Hearing this Sambha halted in its onward stride and began to think. `No use will be this exercise of mine to take my dear friend to please my wife if he does not possess the nectar filled heart my wife is seeking. Let me take him back to the shore so that he can fetch it ‘ so thinking Sambha turned back towards the shore and Chotu gave a sigh a relief.

As soon as they reached the bank Chotu in a jiffy jumped out of the back of Sambha and in a trice climbed the nearest tree.
Sambha waited patiently for Chotu to return but he could only hear crackling of leaves and Chotu was jumping from branch to branch. Seeing Sambha still waiting Chotu called out `Sambha don’t think I am going to come back to my grave of death. You are a fool to think any one will have two hearts. You have betrayed our friendship. It is only duty of every creature to take care of its life. I am not coming to sacrifice my dear life’. So saying it vanished in to the maze of trees around.Sambha learned his lesson. It is not proper to betray ones own friend after pledging the bond of friendship. It went back hanging his head in shame and never to have anymore of the delicious Naga rathna Pazams.