A dhobi (washerman) used to daily go to the riverbed to wash clothes. Sometimes the clothes would be too many and then he would pile up the bundle on his donkey and take them to the riverbed. As time passed, the donkey became too old to carry the load. The dhobi found that it was of no use to keep the donkey with him now. So he wrapped the donkey in an old tiger skin and left it in the forest to fend for itself. Moreover the dhobi was no longer in a position to feed it.
The donkey was pleased as now it could do as it wished and not be forced to carry heavy loads on its back. It was free to feed on whatever was available in the forest and roam around as it wished. Day by day its strength grew and it regained its energy by eating green grass and fruits abounding in the forest. He would often stray into the nearby fields and rummage through the crops.
During harvest time, a farmer went to his fields covered with a blanket as it was too cold. He carried a shotgun and slept in the field to keep guard over his crop. Meanwhile the donkey, decided to eat the crop growing in the field, so covering itself with the tiger'sskin reached the farm. The farmer bent down to light a fire to keep himself warm. As he looked up, he saw a tiger approaching when in reality it was the donkey covered with the tiger skin. The farmer thought that the tiger would soon attack him and thus immediately took out his gun and shot it dead. This shows that deception can sometimes be fatal.
(Based on a story from the Hitopdesha)
?MG
