Here’s another great story from the Hitopadesha tales. On the banks of the river Godavari, there stood a huge tree. Some weaver birds had built their nests on this tree and were living there happily.
One day, during the rainy season, when the sky was overcast with dark clouds, it started raining very heavily.
Some monkeys who were playing around on the trees also got soaked and ran for shelter under the tree. They were shivering and feeling miserable due to the cold. Some were sneezing while some were running a high temperature. When the birds saw the terrible state of the monkeys, they felt very sorry for them.
To motivate them, the birds said, “Listen monkeys! Look at our nests! We have built these nests with twigs and blades of grass that we picked up with our beaks. Though it took us many days,we did not give up. It is a result of our hard work that we are sitting safe here today while you are getting drenched in the rain.” They continued, “Now the rainy season has set in. You must not sit idle and waste the entire day in jumping from one branch to the other. You must make good use of your hands and feet and make yourselves a nice shelter.”
The monkeys took the advice of the birds. They thought that the birds were ridiculing them and decided to teach them a lesson. As soon as the rain stopped the offended monkeys climbed the tree to take their revenge from the birds. They broke the birds’ eggs and destroyed their nests.
The poor birds repented on giving advice that was unasked for.
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