The Cave That Talked

THE CAVE THAT TALKED

There was once a lion in a part of a forest, and his name was Rough-Claw. One day he found nothing whatever to eat in his wanderings, and his throat was pinched by hunger. At sunset he came to a great mountain cave and went in, for he thought: "Surely, some animal will come into this cave during the night. I will hide and wait."

Presently the owner of the cave, a jackal named Curd-Face, came to the door and began to sing: "Cave ahoy! Cave aho-o-oy!" Then after a moment's silence, he continued in the same tone: "Hello! Don't you remember how you and I made​an agreement that I was to speak to you when I came back from the world outside, and that you were to sing out to me? But you won't speak to me today. So I am going off to that other cave, which will return my greeting."

Now when he heard this, the lion thought: "I see. This cave always calls out a greeting when the fellow returns. But today, from fear of me, it doesn't say a word. This is natural enough. For

The feet and hands refuse to actWhen peril terrifies;A trembling seizes every limb;And speech unuttered dies.

"I will myself call out a greeting, which he will follow to its source, so providing me with a dinner."

The lion thereupon called out a greeting. But the cave so magnified the roar that its echo filled the circuit of the horizon, thus terrifying other forest creatures as well, even those far distant. Meanwhile the jackal made off, repeating the stanza:

Joy comes from knowing what to dread,And sorrow smites the dunderhead:A long life through, the woods I've walked,But never heard a cave that talked.

"Take this to heart and come with me." And Red-Eye, having made his decision, departed for another fortress, accompanied by a retinue of followers.

At Red-Eye's departure, Live-Strong was​overjoyed. And he reflected: "Very good, indeed. Red-Eye's flight is a blessing to us. For he was farsighted, while the rest are numskulls. I can easily destroy them now. For the proverb says:

If no farsighted counselors,Long-tried, secure,Aid him, the downfall of a kingIs swift and sure.

And there is sound reasoning in this:

The shrewd discover enemiesDisguised as friendsIn senseless counselors whose speechTo evil tends."

After these reflections, he dropped each day one fagot from the forest into his own nest, with the ultimate purpose of setting the cave afire. Nor did the owls, poor fools, perceive that he was building up his nest in order to burn them alive. Well, there is sense in the saying:

Cause your friends no bitter woes;Do not fraternize with foes:Friends, when lost, are friends no more;Enemies were lost before.

Thus, pretending to build a nest, Live-Strong constructed a woodpile at the fortress gate. Then at sunrise, when the owls became blind, he hastened away and reported to Cloudy: "My lord and king, I have prepared the enemy's cave for burning. Come with your retainers, each bringing a lighted fagot from the forest, to throw on my nest at the gate of the​cave. Thus all your foes will die in torments like those in Pot-baking Hell."

At this Cloudy was delighted and said: "Father, tell me your adventures. It is long since we met." "No, my son," said Live-Strong. "This is no time for talk. Some enemy spy might possibly report my journey hither. And our blind enemy, thus informed, might make his escape. Make haste, make haste. For the proverb says:

When speed is needful, ne'er permitDelay, but do it pat;Else, wrathful gods are sure to strikeThe undertaking flat.

And again:

Whatever deed you have in mind(Especially when fate is kind),Do quickly. If you wait a bit,Then time will suck the juice of it.

"Later, when your enemies are slain, and you have returned to your home, I will tell the whole story in carefree humor."

So Cloudy and his followers, taking Live-Strong's advice, seized one lighted fagot apiece in their bills, flew to the gate of the cave, and threw their fagots upon Live-Strong's nest. Then all the owls (being blind in the daytime) remembered Red-Eye's counsels as they suffered the torments of Pot-baking Hell. In this fashion Cloudy exterminated his foes and returned to his old fortress in the banyan tree.

There he mounted the lion-throne and, his heart​overflowing with joy, he questioned Live-Strong in full session of his court: "Father, how did you pass the time in the midst of the enemy? For the proverb says:

Better a plunge in blazing fire(The righteous know)Than momentary contact withA wicked foe."

And Live-Strong said: "My lord and king!

Whatever path provides escapeWhen danger's face is seen,With clear decision follow, ifIt noble seem, or mean:Two arms like trunks of elephants,Fight-calloused, skilled to wieldThe bow of heaven, Arjun feltTo woman's bracelets yield.The wise and strong, awaiting daysMore prosperous, must grantObedience to wicked lordsWhose speech is adamant:Gigantic Bhima, smoke-begrimed,Puffing at labor, andA ladle flourished in his fist,Was cook in Matsya land.The prudent, hopeful man should actAs suits an evil case,Should steel his heart to carry throughA holy deed, or base:Great Arjun with a calloused armFrom twanging bow divineEffeminately danced, and sawHis tinkling girdle shine.

The wise, alert, ambitious man,If he expect success,Must wait on fortune, watch his stepAnd curb his stateliness:Yudhishthir King, with pilgrim's staff,Long drew his painful breath,Though worshiped by his brothers, greatAs War, and Wealth, and Death.So Kunti's handsome, powerful twins,High birth writ on their brows,Were menials at Virata's court,And lived by counting cows.So queenly Draupadi, with youth'sAnd matchless beauty's seal,In charm most like a goddess, fellBy turn of fortune's wheel;And haughty maidens called her slaveAnd sneered at her for sport,What time she powdered sandalwoodIn Matsya's royal court."

"Father," said Cloudy, "this dwelling with an enemy seems to me like the sword-blade ordeal." "So it is," said Live-Strong. "But I never saw such a pack of fools anywhere. Not one was sensible except Red-Eye. He, indeed, has great capacity, an intelligence not blunted by his extensive scientific attainments. He discovered my exact purpose. But as for the other counselors, they were great fools, making a living by a mere pretense of giving good counsel, with no flair for verity. They were not even aware of this:

'Tis ruinous to trust the scampsWho come to you from hostile camps;Such rivals you should chase away,For constant trouble does not pay.The foeman serving as a scout,Who knows (by bobbing in and out)Your favored chair, familiar bed,And how you drink, and what you're fed,Your travels to another town—Will strike his heedless foeman down.The prudent therefore guards himself—The source of virtue, love, and pelf—With every effort, strain, and stress:For death will follow heedlessness.

And there is plenty of sense in this:

Who, ill-advised, does not commitGrave faults ofsavoir faire?What glutton has not much unrestWithin himself to bear?Whom does not fortune render proud?Whom does not death lay low?To whom do not possessions bringAbundant harm and woe?The steady forfeit glory, whileThe restless forfeit friends;The bankrupt forfeits family,The banker, better ends;The man of passion forfeits books,The fawner, friendship's flower;The king with careless counselorsMust forfeit kingly power.

"Yes, O King, I have experienced in person what you were kind enough to put into words: that​association with the enemy is equal to the sword-blade ordeal. As the old verse puts it:

Bear even foes upon your back;When fortune clogsYour path, endure. The great black snakeSlew many frogs."

"How was that?" asked Cloudy. And Live-Strong told the story of

THE FROGS THAT RODE SNAKEBACK