The goose, the crow, and the traveler

There is a city called Ujjain. And in the city’s road grows a tree. Where the tree stands water flows. And a crow builds a nest there. Once, a traveler comes on the road. He holds a bow and arrow. Where the tree stands the traveler sits. The traveler drinks water. Now, a fruit falls from the tree. Then the traveler eats the fruit. And the traveler likes the fruit. And later, he sleeps. Now, the sun heats the traveler’s face. But the goose* thinks: “If the sun heats the traveler’s face, then he does not sleep happily. So what do I do?” So the goose spreads a wing like a sun-shade. And so it protects the traveler from the sun. And the sun does not heat the traveler’s face. But the crow because of wickedness does not like the traveler’s happiness. Now, when the traveler sleeps, he opens his mouth**. And when the crow sees the traveler’s mouth, because of wickedness he shits. And the shit falls in the traveler’s mouth. And the crow flies from the tree. And when the traveler sees the goose in the tree, from anger he takes his bow and kills the goose.

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Adapted from Hitopadeśa, chapter 3. (Killingley:Lesson 14, page 102)

*Goose here is translating haṃsaḥ (हंसः), which doesn’t have quite the inelegant ring of the bird’s name in English. Sometimes this dissonance is avoided by translating it as swan. It carries certain mystical, mythological connotations in India.

**Literally “opens his face.” Face and mouth translate the same Sanskrit word.