The wisdom of the snake
Suddhodana, king of the frogs that lived on this side of the well, was backed up against the mossy wall. Kalia the snake, hood raised, stared at him with unblinking eyes.
“Leave me alone Kalia,” Suddhodana pleaded.
“I am hungry king,” Kalia said, “I need to eat.”
“You have eaten my family and all of my people,” Suddhodana wept as he spoke. “You have been the death of all that I loved in this world!”
“I was hungry,” said Kalia, licking his lips. “Besides, it was you who invited me into this well. You showed me the way to your world.”
“I brought you here so you would destroy my enemies,” Suddhodana cried. “You were supposed to eat the other frogs. Those on the other side of the well. The evil ones who challenged my authority.”
“You are all just frogs. I could never tell the difference,” Kalia said before he lunged forward and swallowed Suddhodana.
This is an old folktale and I lay no claim to its authorship. I just converted the narrative into a scene and gave the characters names and dialogues.
Isn’t Kalia always the crow?
Triya
18 Aug 09 at 10:11 am
Reminiscent of Pakistan Taliban tango
S
19 Aug 09 at 7:16 am