Jataka Tales

The following stories are Jataka tales: stories of the previous lives of the Buddha.
They are short

and meant to teach a lesson about correct behavior and being a good Buddhist. They are from a
book called Buddha Stories by Demi (Henry Holt, 1997).
When you read them, think:

● How is this story related to Buddhism?
○ Is it related to the Four Noble Truths?
○ Is it related to the Eightfold Path?
○ Is it related to the Five Precepts?
● What is the moral of the story? What is the reader supposed to learn?
● How could this story apply to my life?
The Black Bull

On a rich farm in India, a beautiful black calf was born. He was so perfectly formed
and so strong that his master named him Beauty. He fed him the finest rice and treated him
with kindness. In time, Beauty grew into a giant bull of the most amazing strength. He
thought to himself, I should do something to repay my master’s kindness!
He said to his master, “Oh kind master! Why don’t you have a contest for a thousand
gold pieces to see which bull can pull a hundred carts loaded with stones!”
His master thought the idea excellent and arranged a great race. As the race began, he
jumped on Beauty’s back and fiercely whipped his sides. The he shouted, “Pull, you demon!
Pull!” But Beauty had never heard such words or felt his master’s whip before. The bull would
not budge an inch. His master lost the contest and went home in defeat. He went to bed even
though the sun was shining. Beauty strolled over to his window and looked in.
He asked, “Master, why are you taking a nap?”
“Taking a nap? I’ve lost so much money I’ll never sleep again!”
Beauty asked, “Master, in all my life, have I ever hurt you or your children?”
“Never,” said his master.
“Then why were you so cruel to me? Did the thought of so much money make you
forget all respect for your friend and servant?”
His master was silent.
Beauty said, “Arrange another contest, this time for two thousand gold pieces, but
remember to treat me kindly.”
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So his master arranged another contest. This time, he stroked Beauty’s back and said
softly, “Beautiful bull, please show us your amazing strength!” And Beauty gave a single pull
and moves so far ahead of all the other bulls that he beat them by many miles.
The Beautiful Parrots

Once upon a time, two parrots lived in a deep green forest. Both were gorgeous, with
red, yellow, and blue feathers, but one was wise and the other was foolish. A hunter trapped
the two birds and gave them to the king as a present. The king was pleased with his beautiful
birds and put them in a golden cage with golden dishes full of honey, parched corn, and sugar
water to drink. The king talked and talked with the parrots, and soon they became favorites of
the whole court.
Then one day a hunter trapped a big black monkey and gave it to the king as a present.
Soon, all the attention was paid to the monkey. He made funny faces and became the
favorite. The wise parrot said nothing. But the foolish parrot complained, “Now the monkey
gets the attention that belongs to us!”
The wise parrot said, “By what right does all the attention belong to us?”
The foolish parrot replied, “Because we were so good! So loyal and true! And we never
bit anyone or squawked! We were such well-behaved birds!”
The wise parrot said,
“Attention belongs to nobody;
Gain and loss and praise and blame
Pleasure, pain, dishonor, fame
All come and go like a breeze,
Why should a little parrot grieve?”
Meanwhile, as time went on, the monkey did not seem so funny anymore. Soon he
began to scare the children. The king became angry and ordered the monkey back to the
forest. Once again the parrots were the favorites of the whole court and the foolish parrot
sang with joy.
But the wise parrot warmed,
“Gain and loss and praise and blame
Pleasure, pain, dishonor, fame
Come and go like the spring.
Why should a little parrot sing?”
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The Cunning Wolf
Once upon a time, a wolf lived on a rock by the banks of the Ganges River. Suddenly,
rising winter floods surrounded his rock and he was marooned. The wolf sat on his rock with
no food to eat and no way of getting any.
As I must sit here with nothing to do until the floodwaters subside, thought the wolf, I
might was well think about the meaning of life: I have not always been the best of wolves. I
have been frightening, greedy, hungry, and fierce. I am going to become a new wolf. I am
going to become religious!
And so, folding his paws in front of him as holy men do, he sat on his rock and
thought he must look very holy. Pleased with himself, he adjusted his tail and said, “Now I’ll
begin my holy fast. I will eat nothing until the waters subside!” But Buddha decided to test the
wolf. Buddha could change himself into any shape he wished, and he became a plump little
goat jumping about on a rock. The wolf took one look at the little goat and began to drool.
“Forget about starving today - I’ll starve tomorrow!” he said, and sprang at the goat.
But the goat got away. The wolf sprang again. But the goat got away again. The wolf jumped,
leaped, and chased the goat until he was breathless, whereupon he gave up, exhausted.
Suddenly, he cheered up, thinking, At least I have not broken my fast! I am a new
wolf after all!
Then the goat vanished and Buddha appeared in its place. He said to the wolf with
some scorn, “Y ou did promise to reform, but you didn’t keep your promise. Words that are
hardest to live by are easiest to speak!”
The Clever Crab

One summer long ago, a fish pond was rapidly drying up from lack of rain. A crane on
the bank said to the fish, “I know of a pond deep in the woods where there is plenty of water. I
could carry you there, one by one.”
“No crane ever wants to help a fish!” said the king of fish.
“If you don’t believe me,” said the crane, “I’ll take you there and bring you back, and
you can tell other fish about it yourself.”
The king of fish figured he would just as soon be eaten by the crane as dry up in his
pond, so he accepted the offer. The fish held on to the crane’s back with his fins, and they flew
deep into the woods. There the king of fish saw a great pond - cool and shady, pure and
sparkling.
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“Wonderful!” said the king of fish. “Now take me back so I can tell the other fish about
it!”
So back they went. All the fish wanted to go to the great pond, and the crane picked
them up one fish at a time and carried them away - not to the great pond, but to a cave where
he ate them one by one. Soon he had eaten all the fish. There was only a crab left in the little
pond.
“Crab,” said the crane, “I’ll take you to the great pond as I did all the fish.”
“OK,” said the crab, “But you must let me hold on to your neck with my claws.”
The crane knew about the tight grip of crabs, but he was so hungry, he agreed. So the
crab hung on to the crane’s neck with his claws, and they flew to the cave.
“All right, you can let go of my neck now,” said the crane.
The crab looked around and said, “I see no great pond. All I see is a great pile of fish
bones!”
“Y es!” said the crane, “And soon your shell will be all that’s left of you!”
But the crab tightened his grip so sharply that the crane’s head fell off.
“Not my shell, but your bones will be left to dry in remorse!” said the crab, crawling
away. After a few days, he found the great pond deep in the woods - cool and shady, pure and
sparkling - and there lived happily ever after.
The Monkey King

Once upon a time, there was a monkey king who ruled over eighty thousand
monkeys. In his kingdom there was a mango tree as big as the moon. The monkeys jumped
all over the tree, eating the fruit and picking up those that fell to the ground. One of the tree’s
branches spread over a river, and sometimes a mango fell into it and floated downstream.
“Danger will come if a mango floats downstream!” predicted the monkey king, and he
ordered the monkeys to catch any mangoes that fell into the water. But one night, unseen by
the monkeys, a mango fell into the water and floated far downstream. In the morning, when
a human king who lived in a river palace went to take his bath, he saw the huge, beautiful
fruit. After tasting it, he had to have more, and he set out with his men to find the source
upstream. In the evening, after a long, hard search, they spotted the enormous mango tree
full of lovely ripe fruit. Since the men were tired, they camped beneath it for the night. When
all the men had fallen asleep, the monkey king with his eighty thousand monkeys crept into
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the tree, and, moving from branch to branch, started eating up the mangoes. But the human
king heard the monkeys and woke up.
He called to his men, “Save the fruit! Save the fruit!”
His men surrounded the tree and aimed their arrows at the monkeys. The monkeys
trembled with fear, but the monkey king said, “Do not be afraid! I will save you!”
Quickly, he wound his tail around the branch of the tree that spread over the river,
then leaped across the river and caught a branch of a banyan tree on the other side, making a
bridge of his own back! Then he called to the monkeys, “Come, monkeys! Run onto the
branch, across my back, and down the banyan tree!”
The monkeys did as their king told them to. They were all safe and sound.
The human king, witnessing this scene, was amazed. He thought, All I am doing is
saving fruit, while this monkey king has just saved his entire people! I have learned a great
lesson today. He went back to his kingdom, forgetting about the fruit, and began doing good
works for all his people.
The Magic Elephant

Once a dazzling white elephant was born, and because of his great beauty, he became
the elephant of the king. Adorned on festival days, he would carry the king through the streets
and everyone would say, “What a magnificent elephant!”
Since no one ever said anything flattering about the king, the king became jealous of
the elephant and thought of a plan to get rid of him. The king summoned the elephant’s
trainer.
“The elephant is not well trained!” said the king.
“Indeed he is,” said the trainer.
“If he is, then he can climb to the top of the highest mountain!” said the king.
So the trainer mounted the dazzling white elephant and rode him up to the highest
mountain’s peak. The king and his courtiers followed in horse-drawn wagons.
“If he is so well trained,” said the king, “he can stand on three legs at the edge of the
mountaintop!” The trainer signaled, and the elephant stood on three legs.
“Now make him stand on his two front legs!” yelled the king. The elephant raised his
back legs and stood on his front legs.
“Now on his back legs!” roared the king. The obedient elephant raised his front legs
and stood on his back legs.
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“Now on one leg!” screamed the king. And the elephant stood on one leg.
“If he is so well-trained,” screeched the king, “make him stand on the air!”
Surely the king must want him to fall off the cliff, the trainer thought. So he whispered
in the elephant’s ear, “Great white elephant, the king wants you to fall off the cliff to your
death. He is not worthy of you. If you have magic powers, rise up in the air and fly with me
to the next kingdom!”
And the great white elephant rose straight up into the air!
The trainer then yelled down to the king, “This great white elephant is too good for a
worthless fool like you; none but a wise and good king is worthy to be his master.”
And off they flew to the next kingdom, whose wise king in time reduced the worthless
king to ashes.

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What is the moral of the story 'The Black Bull'?

What lesson does the story 'The Beautiful Parrots' try to teach?

The following stories are Jataka tales: stories of the previous lives of the Buddha.

They are short

When you read them, think:

The Black Bull

The Beautiful Parrots

The Clever Crab

The Monkey King

The Magic Elephant

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