The Greedy Cobra and the King of Frogs

Panchtantra Stories

A big well was the home to a kingdom of frogs, led by the king of frogs named Gangadatta. One day, unable to bear continuous harassment by his relatives, he decided to abandon his kingdom. He came out of the well and thought, "He who certainly retaliates Him who harmed him in peril And ridiculed him in misery Is a man without rebirth."  Deeply lost in such thoughts, the frog king saw a big cobra entering the burrow of a tree and thought, "We must set an enemy to fight an enemy, set a strong person to crush another strong person. Their end will bring us happiness."  With this aim in view, he went to the burrow and called the cobra, "Priyadarsana, please come out."  The cobra, however, was careful. He thought, "Who is this fellow? He does not seem to be one of us. I don’t have any friends outside my circle. I will stay inside and find out who the caller is. He could be a magician or someone seeking my help in killing his enemy." Then, the cobra shouted from inside, "Who are you, sir?"  "I am Gangadatta, king of frogs. I have come to seek your help," said the caller.  "I cannot believe you. Can there be friendship between a blade of dry grass and fire? Haven’t the learned said that he, who is natural prey to the predator never, even in a dream, gets closer to him? I cannot trust your words," said the cobra.  "O Priyadarsana, what I tell you is true. You are my born enemy. But I have come to you seeking help to avenge my humiliation. The learned have said,  "When your life is under threat When danger stares you in the face It is better to bend before an enemy And save life and property." "Who humiliated you," asked the cobra."It is my relatives." "Where do you live? Is it a well or a pond or a tank?"  "It is a well with stone walls."  "But I have no legs. How can I reach the well and kill your enemies?"  "Sir, please don’t say no. I will show you how to enter the well. There is a crevice in the wall that opens into the well. It’s a nice hiding place for you. Come, I will show you," said Gangadatta, king of frogs.  The cobra then thought, "I have become old. Rarely can I get a frog to eat. This fellow has come to give me a new lease of life. I will go with him and have a daily feast of frogs."  Addressing the king of frogs, the cobra said, "Let’s go."  "But there is a condition," said Gangadatta, "Priyadarsana, I will take you there and show you the place. But you should spare frogs that are close to me. You should eat only those I select as food for you."  The cobra replied, "You are now my friend. I give you my word. I will eat only those marked by you as my food."  The cobra then emerged from its burrow and accompanied the king of frogs to the well. The frog king showed him the crevice in the well and his relatives who deserved to be killed. The cobra happily settled in the crevice and finished in course of time all those frogs their king had marked for extermination.  Now, without frogs to eat, the cobra told the king, "I have destroyed all your enemies. Now show me prey for food. It is you who brought me here."  Gangadatta told him, "You have done your job to help me. Now, it is time for you to leave this place."  "How can I leave?" protested the cobra. "Someone else will occupy my place. So, I will not go, I will stay here only. You offer me one frog every day from your circle of relatives."  Repenting for making friends with a natural enemy, Gangadatta thought it was better to offer the cobra one friend a day, remembering the saying that "he who befriends a stronger enemy invites certain death. A wise man does not lose all his wealth to save a paltry sum."  Accordingly, the king of frogs began offering the cobra a frog a day. But the wicked cobra swallowed all the frogs. One day, it was the turn of Yamunadatta, son of the king of frogs. The king cried bitterly over the loss of his son. His wife then told him that there was no point in crying over the past and that he should immediately leave the place and look for ways to end the menace of the cobra.