The Blind Vulture is one of the most interesting
stories/ tales from the collection of Hitopadesha Tales. Once upon a
time, there was a hill that sloped down to the banks of a river. At the
bottom of the hill, there was a tree which made the shelter for many
birds. One day, a blind old Vulture came to live in the hollow of the
tree. The birds welcomed the blind vulture and decided to give him a
share of their food since he was old.
When the Blind Vulture saw birds’ concern for him, he was
overwhelmed with gratitude. He thought to himself, “As these birds
are being so kind to me, it has become my duty to protect their young
ones when they are away gathering food”. After this, the Vulture
used to get his food from the birds and in return, he took care of their
young ones while they were away. So like this, all of them were passing
their days happily.
One day, a cat passed by that tree when the birds were away. Hearing
the noise of the young ones, she came near the tree with the hope of
catching and eating the baby birds. But when the young ones saw her
coming, they made a chirrup. The blind Vulture heard them and shouted, “Who
is there?” On seeing the Vulture, the Cat got frightened and said
to herself, “O God! I am as good as dead. But I need to be brave. I
should try to gain his confidence”.
At once, the Cat replied, “O wise one! I just came to pay my
homage to you”. The Vulture asked, “Who are you?” The Cat
answered, “I am a Cat”. The Vulture shouted, “Go away
otherwise I’ll eat you up”. The Cat was clever and she made
quick responses to the Vulture. She innocently said to the Vulture, “Sir,
Listen to me first then you can decide further. It is not good that you
are discarding me as I belong to a particular race”.
The Vulture decided to listen to her. The Cat said, “I live on the
other side of the river. I don’t eat meat and take bath everyday in
the river. I am doing great penance for my sins. I have heard much about
your intelligence from the birds on the banks of the river. They told me
that I should learn more about religion from you as you possess all
knowledge. So, I came here to become your disciple and seek your
blessings”.
She further said, “But, I don’t feel what the birds told me
is true, when you got ready to kill a poor cat. You should have treated
me well, after all guests are form of God. Even if you don’t have
any food to offer me, at least you could say something kind to me”.
The Old Vulture replied, “How can I trust you since you are
carnivorous and young birds reside here”. The Clever Cat was
well-versed in tantrums.
She touched the ground and her ears as a sign of her honesty and
replied, “I've read all scriptures and came to know that killing is
immoral. The entire forest is full of herbs and vegetables. So why
should I commit sin by killing birds?" The Vulture believed her and
allowed her to stay with him in the hollow of the tree. With the passing
days, the Cat started eating the young birds one by one without the
knowledge of the Vulture.
When the birds found that their young ones were missing, they started
looking for their kids. As soon as the Cat realized that situation is
not in her favor, she quietly slipped away. Unknown about the happening,
the blind Vulture lay down near the hollow of the tree where the Cat had
thrown the bones of some of the birds eaten by her. When the Birds saw
the bones of their young ones, at once they shouted, “The blind
Vulture has eaten our innocent kids”.
All of them got enraged by the ingratitude of the Vulture and they
pecked him to death. The poor Vulture didn’t even get the chance to
defend himself.
Moral: Never treat someone whom you hardly know as a friend.
