The louse protested that it would be very imprudent to drink a lot of the king’s blood, that she herself drank only a little every night so that the king did not bother to kill her.

“One must eat with moderation,” she concluded, illustrating her point with the story of the greedy heron who wanted to eat all the fish in Lake Malini.

Si Baka, the heron, wondered whether there was an easier way to catch fishes. So he said to the fishes: “I have decided to become a Sadhu, one who has forsaken this world.  I will catch no more fishes and, instead, I will be your friend.”  The fishes saw that the heron had begun his fast, so they believed him.

A few hours later the heron returned from a flight and addressed the fishes: “Alas, now I have learned that some fishermen are coming to drain this lake and scoop up all the fishes in it.  I could save your lives if you want me to.  If you trust me, I can carry you in my bill over to yonder river, where you will be safe.”

The fishes believed him and, one by one, let themselves be picked up by Si Baka, who carried them to the riverside.  Then, instead of releasing them, Si Baka swallowed them one by one.

The last living being in the lake was the crab, who saw through the heron’s intentions and, instead of letting the heron catch and eat him, the crab cut his throat, which served him right for devouring all the fishes in the lake.  The heron should have realized that the crab was a more dangerous prey than the defenseless fishes and left him alone.

There is a second moral to this story if it is seen from another perspective: The heron will always want to catch fishes; no one should believe him when he says he has stopped.  Will a cat ever stop running after mice?

Despite these wise words of warning from the louse, the bedbug could not resist attacking the king’s well-fed thighs.  “Wait!” cried the louse.  “The time is not yet favorable.  At least let him fall asleep first, and then pierce the skin gently, not with a fierce jab.  Don’t wake him up!” Ignoring these sensible warnings from the louse, the bedbug stung the king’s leg and started sucking greedily.  Furious, the king called out loudly that he wanted his bed searched; in fact, he ordered the whole bedroom cleaned.