This she did and after bathing seven times she looked as beautiful as a princess.  But she wanted to be yet more beautiful, so she bathed seven more times.  Alas, after bathing fourteen times, she looked like a monkey again.

All these fables have in common the theme of excessive greed, but there are variations on this theme, or additional morals.  At the end of the Brahmin’s story, the tiger concludes: “It is better to show kindness to animals than to a wicked man.”

Another theme is that of the foolish servant.  For example, a certain prince, Rajaputra, had a favorite monkey called Garubuh who was devoted to him.  One day the prince went for a walk in the woods accompanied by his faithful Garubuh.  The prince felt sleepy, so he lay down and gave his sword to Garubuh, saying, “If anyone comes to disturb me, behave like a man.”

David Austen/Black Star

After the prince had gone to sleep, a fly alighted on his neck.  The alert monkey raised his sword and killed the fly, as well as his master.

“Never trust a fool,” concluded the tiger.  At that moment Papaka raised his bow and aimed an arrow at the tiger, who fled.  Later, when the ape-lady Wanari was away, the wicked hunter Papaka killed her two children, roasted them, and ate them, pretending they had been burnt by a forest fire.  That was the extent of his ingratitude after she had saved his life by helping him to climb the tree in which she lived so that the tiger could not catch him.

Sambada the jackal told the lion-king that fable in order to convince him that the bull Nandaka would not be grateful for the lion’s hospitality.  But King Candapinggala was not convinced, saying, “Your stories show the ingratitude of human beings, but my friend Nandaka is a celestial servant of Siwa.”

“Then listen to the history of the elephant and the parrots, Sire,” continued the minister.

Once upon a time the elephant was in an angry mood.  He ran through the forest at a thundering pace and, without looking, hit a tree with his big hard head.