Based on stories from Hitopdesha
A wily jackal was going past a village when he fell into a tub filled with indigo dye. Frightened by the dark colour, the jackal quickly jumped out of the tub and made his escape into the forest. On the way it had to cross a river. The jackal looked into the river and saw its body dyed in blue colour.
It was suddenly struck with a devious plan. It decided to take advantage of the situation and went deep into the forest to meet its companions. When the other jackals saw it, they were surprised to see this strange coloured jackal. This wily jackal said to them, ?Since I am different from you and look better than you, I should be treated as the king of the jungle. The goddess of our forest has made me like this. So from today onwards, you will do exactly as I say and tell you.?
The other jackals looked at this jackal with wonder and bowed down to pay obeisance to it. They replied in a chorus, ?Your Majesty, it shall be exactly as you order from today onwards.?
The blue jackal became bloated with pride. From then onwards, each and every wish of the blue jackal was fulfilled at the mere nod of its head. As days passed, the blue jackal became more and more domineering and began to make the most impossible of demands which the other jackals were forced to fulfil. It so happened that over days and weeks, the other animals too came to pay their regards to the blue jackal, which became too big for its boots now. Even the tigers and the lions came to treat it as the king.
The blue jackal decided to replace the jackals who were its courtiers with tigers and lions as it began to feel more secure with them around. The jackals did not like this and they held a meeting, ?Look at this blue jackal. How can it dismiss us like this? It wants to keep tigers and lions as ministers.?
An elderly jackal spoke up, ?Do not worry brothers. We shall teach this blue jackal a lesson. It does not realise that an enemy from among its clan can be more dangerous than one from outside. I say this because we know all the inside secrets and we can betray this blue jackal in a jiffy. Now I shall draw up a plan for you. The lions and tigers do not know that the blue jackal is like one of us except for its blue colour. They have nothing to fear from it. We will act in a manner that its true nature comes to the fore. We must go near the blue jackal and start howling. It will be unable to resist the temptation to follow suit and will thus be exposed in front of the lions and tigers as also in front of all the other animals.?
The next day, acting on the advice of the elderly jackal, all the jackals gathered in the presence of the blue jackal and began to howl in unison. Just as the old jackal had predicted, the blue jackal began to howl too while looking at the moon. Its courtiers comprising of tigers and lions were taken by surprise to see the king howl like an ordinary a jackal. They realised the true identity of the jackal. Greatly incensed at the blue jackal'sduplicity, one of the lions pounced angrily upon the blue jackal and tore its body into shreds. All of them then got together and feasted on its flesh while the jackals watched quietly to see the tragic end of the blue jackal.
It goes to show that outward physical appearance is not enough for becoming a king.
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