One day, while roaming the forest in search of food, a jackal saw a troop of rats, who were led by their king, a bandicoot. The clever jackal realised that it would be useless to attack them as he would be able to catch only one of them before the rest ran away. He then hatched a plan and followed the rats to their hole. 

The jackal waited for all the rats to go in and then stood outside, on one leg, his mouth open and his face turned towards the sun. This strange pose piqued the curiosity of the rats and some of them came out, with their king, the bandicoot, to find out more.  

The bandicoot asked the jackal –  

“Why are you standing on one leg?” 

“If I stood on all four, the earth would not be able to bear my weight’, the jackal replied. 

When asked about why his mouth was open and his face turned upwards, the jackal told the rats that he was taking only air as his food and that he was facing the sun to worship him. The bandicoot and the other rats were impressed by the jackal’s answers and hailed him as a saint. The jackal was thrilled when he found out that his plan was working. 

The next day, the jackal stood in the same position when the rats arrived to worship him.  After some time, the rats started to leave. This was the chance he was waiting for! Without attracting any attention, he quickly swiped up the last rat in the line and gobbled him up.  

This went on for many days. The jackal continued to eat one rat every day without anyone noticing. One morning however, the bandicoot noticed that the jackal had gained weight, even though he had been taking only air as his food for many days. Later, a few rats also pointed out to him that the number of rats in their hole had reduced.  The bandicoot immediately suspected the jackal’s hand behind these strange events and decided to confirm his suspicions. 

That evening, as the rats set out to meet the jackal, the bandicoot said- 

“Today, all of you go ahead. I will come out last”. 

As usual, the rats worshipped the jackal and started to leave. The bandicoot, who was last in line, was prepared, as he expected the jackal to pounce on him.

The moment the jackal sprang, the bandicoot moved. The jackal fell down. Without wasting a moment, the bandicoot dug his teeth into the jackal’s throat and killed him. That evening, the happy rats had a grand feast of the sly jackal’s body!  

Read more moral stories in our collection Wit and Wisdom, now available on the ACK Comics app, ACK store, Kindle, Flipkart and more. 

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On the banks of a river, in a beautiful jungle, there once lived a crocodile couple. Across the river, on the other bank, there also lived a monkey. The monkey would live high up in the trees and feast on the fruits and berries there. He was fast as well as smart and so, was very hard to catch. However, the female crocodile had her heart set on tasting the heart of the monkey. She would often ask her husband to trick the monkey and bring her his delicious heart somehow.  

The male crocodile thought hard. He knew that catching the monkey would be difficult, but he did not want to disappoint his wife either. Soon, he had an idea.  

The crocodile went up to the monkey, who was busy eating tasty fruits. He called out to the monkey and said, “Dear Monkey, don’t you get bored eating these same fruits every day? I know a tree across the river which is full of juicy, colourful fruits! Don’t you want to try them too?” The monkey was eager to try the fruits, but he replied, “I can’t swim across the river. The strong currents will drown me. How will I taste the fruits then?”  

This was exactly what the wily crocodile wanted. He said at once, “That’s all? Don’t worry, dear Monkey, I’ll take you across on my back. After all, this is what are friends are for!” The monkey happily agreed and hopped onto the crocodile’s back.  

As soon as the crocodile reached the middle of the river, he started to sink lower. The worried monkey asked the crocodile what he was doing. The crocodile then revealed his plan. He told the monkey about his wife’s wish to eat his heart.  

Scared, but thinking fast, the monkey began to laugh loudly. The crocodile was confused. He asked the monkey why he was laughing, to which the monkey said, “Your wife wants my heart but she’ll never get it even if you kill me!” 

“Why is that?”, asked the crocodile. 

“Well, as you know, monkeys are very smart. So, we hide our hearts high up in trees, where they are safe. If you take me to my tree, I’ll prove it to you. In fact, I’ll happily give you my heart.” 

The crocodile was surprised. 

“Really?!” he exclaimed. Pat came the reply, “Of course, that’s what friends are for!” Satisfied, the crocodile quickly swam back to the bank. He let the monkey get off his back in order to fetch the heart.  

Once he was safely on land, the monkey quickly scampered up the tallest tree. From up there, he shouted out to the crocodile, “You silly crocodile! If I removed my heart from my body, wouldn’t I die? Go away now and tell your wife she won’t be having monkey heart anytime soon! Hahaha!” 

Read more Monkey Stories on the ACK Comics app. 

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One particularly hot summer, all the lakes and rivers in a forest dried up. A herd of elephants living in the forest knew that they must find a source of fresh water, otherwise they would suffer from extreme thirst. Soon, after searching far and wide, one of the elephants found a huge lake full of fresh, clear water. Overjoyed, all the elephants, led by their kind and wise king, marched towards the lake.

A colony of mice had also made their home near the lake. When the thirsty elephants came marching towards the water, they trampled everything in their path. A lot of mice came under their heavy feet and lost their lives. That evening, the mice that had managed to survive, gathered to find a solution to this problem. The mice decided to speak to the king of the elephants and request him to not use the path on which their colony was settled.

The next day, a small group of mice approached the king and told him of their worries. The king of the elephants was kind and compassionate. He immediately assured the mice that he would lead his herd through some other route and ensure that the mice were not harmed. The mice were relieved and grateful and in turn, they promised to help out the elephants whenever they were in need. The king smiled, convinced that these tiny mice could never help a majestic elephant, like him.

The elephants and the mice settled into their lives by the lake. However, soon a problem arose. One day when some elephants entered the lake to wash themselves in the cool water, they found that their feet were trapped in thick ropes and that they could not come out, no matter how hard they tried! They realised that they had walked into a trap set by poachers, who wanted to capture them for their ivory tusks. In the evening, a group of poachers arrived and pulled the ropes and the elephants out of the water. They then tied the elephants to the nearby tree and left to make some arrangements.

The captured elephants were worried. They could find no way to free themselves, and even the king was out of ideas. Then, he suddenly remembered his mice friends. When one of the free elephants came to visit him later in the night, the king told him to go to the mice colony and ask for help.

Soon, the escaped elephant returned with the mice, who were distressed seeing their elephant friends in trouble. They got to work immediately and chewed through the thick ropes that the poachers had used.

Within a few hours, the ropes gave way and the elephants were free once again! The king elephant thanked the mice for their help and realised how he had underestimated the mice due to their small size. From then on, both the elephants and the mice remained friends and kind neighbours to one another.

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One day in the forest, a tiger, enjoying his meal, got a bone stuck in his jaw. He couldn’t get it out no matter how hard he tried. The tiger was distressed. He thought,

“I will not be able to eat anything unless I get this bone out.”

Days passed. The tiger became weaker and weaker due to starvation. A  woodpecker living on a nearby tree approached him and asked why he was lying with his mouth open. In response, the tiger pointed out the bone in his mouth. Understanding the tiger’s problem, the woodpecker decided to make a deal with him. The woodpecker told the tiger that he would remove the bone if the latter promised to give the former a share in the flesh of animals he kills. The tiger agreed immediately and the woodpecker removed the bone from his mouth.

 Relieved from the discomfort, the hungry tiger happily went hunting. A few hours later, he returned with his prey and started devouring it. The woodpecker saw this and asked for his share, as per the deal. 

The tiger laughed at him and said,

“You know I am a wild animal. I could have easily eaten you when you entered my mouth. I didn’t and so you should be grateful for that.”

The woodpecker was furious when he realized the fact that he had been used by the tiger for his own benefit. 

He waited patiently till the tiger began to doze off, after the heavy meal. The woodpecker swiftly pecked one of the eyes of the tiger, blinding him in one eye. The tiger growled in pain and asked why the woodpecker was so cruel to him. To this, the witty woodpecker replied,

“You know I have a sharp beak. I could have easily blinded both of your eyes. But I didn’t and you should be grateful for that.”

Read more animal stories in our Panchatantra and Jataka collections, now available on the ACK Comics app, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers. 

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One day, while strolling in the jungle, Mahachaturaka- a jackal, stumbled upon a dead elephant lying in his path. He was overjoyed. The elephant was huge and could sustain the jackal for a long, long time. However, there was a problem. The elephant’s hide was very tough and the jackal did not have sharp claws or teeth needed to cut away the hide and get to the flesh. 

While Mahachaturaka was deep in thought, he saw a lion coming his way. Wanting to win his favour, the jackal approached the lion and said,

“My Lord, I am your loyal servant and have been guarding this dead elephant so that you may feast upon it.”

The lion was proud. He said,

“I only eat what I have hunted myself! However, since you are such a loyal servant, you can have this elephant for yourself.”

And so the lion walked away, leaving Mahachaturaka with the elephant. 

A few minutes passed, and the jackal once again heard footsteps coming in his direction. He spotted a tiger. He knew that the tiger was not as proud as the lion and was afraid that he would eat up the elephant. Quickly thinking of a ploy, the jackal spoke to the tiger,

“Dear Uncle Tiger, do not venture near here. This is an elephant that has been killed by a lion. He has gone for his bath and asked me to guard it for him.”

Sowing fear in the tiger’s mind, he continued,

“A tiger once ate a meal hunted by this lion and he was livid! He got so furious that he swore that he would kill any tiger that crossed his path. You should leave before the lion comes back, otherwise, your life would be in grave danger!”

The tiger was alarmed by this story and ran away in the opposite direction, leaving the dead elephant alone. 

The jackal had so far preserved his meal from other enemies, but he still could not figure out how to cut away the elephant’s hide. Just as he was fretting over his problem, he saw a leopard coming toward him. A brilliant idea flashed in his mind. At once he called out to the leopard,

“Dear Uncle Leopard, you look so thin and weak – it seems like you have not had a good meal in a long time! Here, I am guarding this dead elephant for a lion, but seeing your condition, I request you to please eat some of it.”

The leopard was hesitant.

“What if the lion comes back and sees me eating his meal? No, I’d better not take the risk,” he said.

But the jackal was cunning.

“Don’t be afraid, please start eating. I shall signal you to run away as soon as the lion returns,” he reassured the leopard.

Satisfied, the leopard started eating the dead elephant. However, as soon as he had cut the elephant’s hide with his sharp claws, the jackal shouted, “Run! I see the lion coming back! Run!” Hearing his friend’s cries, the leopard ran away as fast as possible. 

Now that he had gotten rid of his rivals and managed to tear away the elephant’s tough hide, the jackal happily feasted on his delicious meal.

Read more such fascinating animal tales in our Jataka, Panchatantra and Hitopadesha Collection. It is now available on the ACK Comics app, Kindle, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers. 

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Lack of trust in your dear ones is the fissure that allows an outsider seep in and break the bond or take complete advantage of it. Here is a story from the Jataka Tales that beautifully highlights this.

This story was adapted by Kamala Chandrakant  and illustrated by Chandrakant Rane

Read more Jataka stories on the ACK Comics app, Kindle and other major platforms.

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Now the cave belonged to a clever jackal named Hasya. When Hasya came back to his cave, he noticed giant paw prints going inside the cave but none coming out. “Ho ho ho, I think there’s someone waiting for me inside, but I’ll need to confirm it!” thought Hasya to himself. So he bellowed, “Why, good evening, cave! How was your day?” When the cave didn’t respond, Hasya  yelled out, “Why aren’t you replying, cave? If you don’t answer, I’ll go elsewhere.” On hearing this, Kharanakhara started to get worried.

Not wanting to take a chance, Kharanakhara blurted out, “Hello, jackal. It’s all right for you to come in. Please do!” The clever Hasya immediately took to his heels, yelling out, “Silly lion! Since when you have heard caves talk?” The impatient Kharanakhara had to go hungry yet again.

And that’s why silence is golden and patience is a virtue!

You read more stories like this in Amar Chitra Katha’s ‘The Brahmin and the Goat’, available on the Amar Chitra Katha app as well as Amazon, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers.

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Gomaya decided to run away before he got attacked and took off, the scary sounds chasing after him!

As Gomaya ran, he thought to himself, “Why am I running? What if it’s nothing?” So he crept back, trying to be brave.

To his astonishment, the terrible sounds were coming from a harmless, old war drum. The low branches of a nearby tree were swishing against it, making the racket. Near the drum was plenty of food lying around as well. Gomaya thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t let the old war drum scare him off!

“What a fool I’d have been if I’d let a silly old war drum cheat me out of all this delicious food!”

So you see, fear of the unknown brings no gain!

Read more stories like this in Amar Chitra Katha’s ‘The Jackal and the Wardrum’, available on the Amar Chitra Katha app as well as Amazon, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers.

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Read more classic Panchatantra and Jataka stories on the ACK Comics app.

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