Swami and the Lion

Once upon a time there lived a poor man in a village.  His name was Swami. He lived by selling a variety of food items.

There was a small forest between his village and the neighbouring one. Swami sold his items in that village as well. Swami ways travelled through the forest to sell his goods in that village.

One day while Swami was walking through the forest, a lion suddenly came opposite. Swami shook with a fear. “Don’t be frightened. I won’t harm you” said the lion. On hearing this, Swami felt relieved. “Oh! My kind hearted lion! You have spared my life. What can I give you in return? Please have these food items” Swami pleased the lion.

The lion tasted the food. “Oh! They’re tasty. If I get such everyday, I’ll even stop eating flesh” the lion praised Swami. Swami pleased. “Your majesty! If you really wish so, I’ll get them to you everyday” he said humbly to the lion.

From that day Swami prepared a variety of food items and offered them to the lion regularly. The lion ate them and gave him some gold coins that he had saved. Soon Swami became very rich. But he had never forgot the great help that the lion did to him. A few days passed by. Swami and the lion were close friends now. The lion had stopped killing animals. 

A crow and a fox didn’t like this. They moved with the lion and depended on him for food. When the lion stopped hunting, they became annoyed. They began to say bad about Swami to the lion. They began to say bad about Swami to the lion. With those tales, the lion slowly grew suspicious about Swami. Some times even the good people were also influenced by wicked friends.

Swami could notice the change in the lion’s behaviour. He suspected the crow and the fox. One day as he was taking the food to the lion, he saw them saying something to the lion.

Soon the lion walked towards him in anger. Fearing that the lion would attack and kill him, he quickly climbed up a free and sat there. When he saw Swami run in fear, the lion realized that his anger against him had no reason. The lion went to the tree along with his followers and said, “Swami! Why are you so frightened on seeing me? Are you not my friend?” 

“Oh king! No doubt you ate good. But I fear the people who surround you. They may change your mind with their words” Swami replied, “So it’s not safe for me to be with you hereafter. You have made me rich. I won’t forget your favour. But I won’t come to you again. Good bye” said Swami. The lion felt ashamed of himself and went away.

Moral of the story : Breaking someone’s trust is like crumpling up a perfect piece of paper. You can smooth it over but it is never going to be the same.