Reading Notes: Jakata Tales, Part B
 |
| Image source |
Birds of a feather: Once upon a time there was a big horse called chestnut. He was a fierce and fury creature. He bit everyone who dared to come near him. His groom always had a broken bone or at the minimum a bruise. As for his how him and his fellow horse companions got a long? There were plenty of kicks and bites from chestut for them. It was always a hurry, skurry, worry, until they could not take anymore and rode off leaving him alone.
Now the king wanted to buy some horses and a dealer came down with a couple hundred of them for him to buy but the king was cheap and wanted to buy them for a cheap price. so he dropped a hint to his groom that it would not be a bad idea for chestnut to make acquaintance with these horses and at the same time he dropped a gold piece in the grooms hand.
so the gromm brought chestnut by to meet the other horses and he whipped him causing chestnut to go about and the groom acted as though the horse was too mighty and let go of the rope. Chest nut now free went among the other horses roaring, kicking, and doing what he usually does with other horses. when he was done hardly one had a whole skin.
The poor dealer was in great despair at the ruining of his horses.
the nect day the king came to see the horses with an upturned nose. He proclaimed how he would not want to buy horses in these conditions all broken, battered, some with broken jaws, most of them bruised up, and half of them limping. The dealer pleaded how it was chestnuts fault and the king lying the way he does asked how one horse could do all that. However the king went on with his plan sayng it would be a shame for the dealer to have to take them back so he would suggest buying them as a favour for half of the original price. The dealer acted as if he did not see right through the kings lies and pretended to be grateful and sold them for the price the king suggested. He was afraid to offend the king and in truth not many people could afford to buy his splendid horses. He knew this would not be the last encounter with the king and he would have to bring him more horses another time.
He then remembered that brute of a horse back home named strong jaw and how nobody could do anything with him. His idea was to take him nect tim and if he does not prove a match for chestnut than he is mistaken. He laughed at the thought what a match and fight these two would give.
Next time as he thought he brought strongjaw with the other horses and again the groom did has he did before with chestnut and let him and the dealer let strongjaw go.
Chestnut pricked up his ears and so did strongjaw and wtihout even acknowledgin the other horses trotted up to eachother and rubbed noses and began to lick eachother all over. They did not fight but in a moment they became friends. neither the dealer or the king could understand what happened.
however this time the king payed a good price for the horses as he saw his little trick did not work. he felt ashamed and paid the dealer for the other horses as well. Still both surpised and wondering why these two fierce fellows became so tender when togther.
The king asked the wisest man in all his kingdom and the man sang this.
If the reason you would know,
Like to like will always go;
Here’s a pair of vicious horses
Just the same in all their courses;
Both are wild, and bite their tether:
Birds of a feather flock together.
Comments
Post a Comment