Story of the Blue Jackal
Once upon a time, in a jungle, there lived a jackal by the name Chandarava.
One day, he was feeling very hungry “rumble… rumble…” went his tummy.
So, he wandered in search of food “tiptoe… tiptoe…” he crept along, sniffing “sniff… sniff…” in every corner.
Without even realizing it, he had wandered right into a village on the outskirts of the jungle.
Suddenly, “BARK! BARK! WOOF! WOOF!” the village dogs had spotted him!
“Yikes!” cried the jackal, and he ran. “Thump! Thump! Thud-thud-thud!” his paws pounded the ground as he dashed away.
In his panic, he didn’t see where he was going and “SPLASH!” he fell right into a big tub of indigo dye!
The jackal climbed out of the tub, dripping wet. He did not look like a jackal at all.
The dogs saw him. They did not recognise this strange creature and ran away in fright.
When the jackal looked at himself in the water, he gasped. His fur was now bright blue!
“Hmm” the jackal said to himself, his eyes twinkling. “Maybe I can use this!”
The jackal went back into the jungle. All the animals stopped and stared. “Gasp!” “Ohhh!” “What is that?” they whispered.
The blue jackal saw the frightened animals.
He spoke to them in a deep voice and said, “I am a special creature sent by Lord Brahma himself to rule this forest. I am King Kukudruma.”
The animals were amazed. The lion said, “We have never seen anyone like you!”
All the other animals agreed. They all agreed to make him their king.
King Kukudruma gave each animal a special job. But, when he saw the other jackals, he was scared, his little secret might not be safe. He didn’t want them near him and chased them to the far end of the jungle.
Every day, the animals brought food to the jackal. “Crunch! Munch! Slurp!” the jackal ate the food happily. He distributed the rest among the animals.
Days passed. No one realized the jackal’s real identity.
But one night…..things changed.
As usual, all the animals were gathered around King Kukudruma, talking happily among themselves. Suddenly, they heard the howling of jackals in the distance “Awooooo! Awooooo!”
Now, the blue jackal heard the howling. He forgot he was pretending to be a different creature. Unable to stop himself, he lifted his head and joined in “Awooooo!”
The animals froze. “Wait a minute,” said the lion. “That sounds like… A JACKAL!”
“Uh-oh” thought the blue jackal.
The animals grew angry. “Grrr! Roar! Snort!” they chased him away, and the jackal ran off into the forest.
And from that day on, he learned an important lesson:
Truth always comes out in the end.It’s always best to be yourself – pretending to be someone else doesn’t last long. Don’t forget who you really are.
Moral of the story:
Lies may help for a short time, but they don’t last forever.
Take a look at the engaging Panchatantra storybooks listed below, if you want to buy a physical book for your kid.
