stories in Old Deccan Days, a collection of orally transmitted
Hindu folk tales, which every teacher would gain by knowing. In the
Hindu animal legends the Jackal seems to play the role assigned in
Germanic lore to Reynard the Fox, and to "Bre'r Rabbit" in the stories
of our Southern negroes: he is the clever and humorous trickster who
comes out of every encounter with a whole skin, and turns the laugh on
every enemy, however mighty.

Once there was a great big jungle; and in the jungle there was a great
big Lion; and the Lion was king of the jungle. Whenever he wanted
anything to eat, all he had to do was to come up out of his cave in the
stones and earth and ROAR. When he had roared a few times all the
little people of the jungle were so frightened that they came out of
their holes and hiding-places and ran, this way and that, to get away.
Then, of course, the Lion could see where they were. And he pounced on
them, killed them, and gobbled them up.

He did this so often that at last there was not a single thing left
alive in the jungle besides the Lion, except two little Jackals,--a
little father Jackal and a little mother Jackal.

They had run away so many times that they were quite thin and very
tired, and they could not run so fast any more. And one day the Lion
was so near that the little mother Jackal grew frightened; she said,--

"Oh, Father Jackal, Father Jackal! I b'lieve our time has come! the
Lion will surely catch us this time!"

"Pooh! nonsense, mother!" said the little father Jackal. "Come, we'll
run on a bit!"

And they ran, ran, ran very fast, and the Lion did not catch them that
time.

But at last a day came when the Lion was nearer still and the little
mother Jackal was frightened about to death.

"Oh, Father Jackal, Father Jackal!" she cried; "I'm sure our time has
come! The Lion's going to eat us this time!"

"Now, mother, don't you fret," said the little father Jackal; "you do
just as I tell you, and it will be all right."

Then what did those cunning little Jackals do but take hold of hands
and run up towards the Lion, as if they had meant to come all the time.
When he saw them coming he stood up, and roared in a terrible voice,--

"You miserable little wretches, come here and be eaten, at once! Why
didn't you come before?"

The father Jackal bowed very low.

"Indeed, Father Lion," he said, "we meant to come before; we knew we
ought to come before; and we wanted to come be