The Moon King And His Subjects
Once some creatures of the forest were discussing the need of having a king. They thought that without a ruler, there was anarchy. But who should be the king? "If we must have a king, then, we should choose one who is great," said a bird. "But one who is already great may not care to look after our interest," observed another. "Even then it pays to pass on as the subjects of the great. Did not the rabbits escape the great calamity by declaring themselves as the subjects of the moon?" replied the bird. And to satisfy the curiosity of his listeners, he narrated the following incident: In a certain forest lived a large number of elephants under their king, Chaturdanta. They lived quite happily, for the forest was evergreen and there were several natural lakes inside it. King Chaturdanta had a group of able-bodied elephants for his officers. They roamed about in the wide forest and kept watch on such beasts from whom they expect danger. Thus everything went on all right until one year there befell a severe drought. The lakes dried up. King Chaturdanta was worried about providing water to his subjects. He sent his officers in all directions to look for some fresh source of water. Most of them returned sadly after a fruitless search. Two, however, came back with their faces looking quite bright. "My lord, there is another forest ten miles away. Although there are no lakes in that forest, a river flows by it and there is enough water in the river to meet our needs. We can go over to that forest and live there till the next monsoon," reported one of the two.
The other elephant's face beamed even brighter. He said, "At the farthest end of this forest itself there is a lake which I have just discovered. It abounds in fresh and cool water. Half our thirst should be quenched even when we have a mere look at it!" King Chaturdanta, naturally, was not in favor of migrating to a new forest. He led his subjects, early next morning, to the lake at the end of the forest and rejoiced at its sight. There were think bushes around it teeming with berries. Tall trees with the prolific growth of leaves stood behind them. Lush creepers hanging from the trees touched the water. The elephants trumpeted loudly and danced with joy around the lake. Then they entered the lake and enjoyed a long bath. Giving out another chorus of trumpets, they left. Little did the elephants know what havoc they wrought on the peaceful life of a small settlement of rabbits. Their frolic and thumps of heavy freet killed dozens of rabbits and wounded many more inside their numerous small holes. Those who survived the calamity remained stunned for a while after the departure of the elephants. Then they came together and mourned their numerous small holes. "What I gathered from their talk, they will come here again tomorrow morning," said one of the rabbits. "That means we are doomed," observed another. There was a long silence. Then said the old rabbit, "Well, we have lived around this lake for generations. Because it is situated on the edge of the forest, we were never troubled by the big beasts who like to live in the interiors of the forest. Now scarcity of water has brought the elephants here. I agree that we are doomed should the elephants continue visiting the lake. But should we not try to stop them?"