# The Panchatantra (Purnabhadra's Recension of 1199 CE)/Book 1/The Lion and the Ram

THE LION AND THE RAM
In a part of a forest was a ram, separated from his flock. In the armor of his great fleece and horns, he roamed the wood, a tough customer.
Now one day a lion in that forest, who had a retinue of all kinds of animals, encountered him. At this unprecedented sight, since the wool so bristled in every direction as to conceal the body, the lion's ​heart was troubled and invaded by fear. "Surely, he is more powerful than I am," thought he. "That is why he wanders here so fearlessly." And the lion edged away.
But on a later day the lion saw the same ram cropping grass on the forest floor, and he thought: "What! The fellow nibbles grass! His strength must be in relation to his diet." So he made a quick spring and killed the ram.
"And that is why I say:
The poor are in peculiar need Of being secret when they feed,
and the rest of it."
While they were thus conferring, Vishnu's messenger returned and said: "Garuda, Lord Vishnu sends orders that you repair at once to the celestial city." On hearing this, Garuda proudly said to him: "Messenger, what will the master do with so poor a servant as I am?"
"Garuda," said the messenger, "it may be that the blessèd one has spoken to you harshly. But why should you display pride toward the blessèd one?" And Garuda replied: "The ocean, the resting-place of the blessèd one, has stolen the eggs of the plover, who is my servant. If I do not chastise him, then I am not the servant of the blessèd one. Make this report to the master."
Now when Vishnu learned from the messenger's ​lips that Garuda was feigning anger, he thought: "Ah, he is dreadfully angry. I will therefore go in person, will address him, and bring him back with all honor. For the proverb says:
Shame no servant showing worth, Loyalty, and noble birth; Pet him ever like a son, If you wish your business done.
And again:
Masters, fully satisfied, Pay by gratifying pride; Servants, for such honor's pay, Gladly throw their lives away."
Having reached this conclusion, he hastened to Garuda, who, beholding his master a visitor in his own house, modestly gazed on the ground, bowed low, and said: "O blessèd one, the ocean, made insolent by his service as your resting-place, has stolen—behold! has stolen the eggs of my servant, and thus brought shame upon me. From reverence for the blessèd one, I have delayed! But if nothing is done, I myself will this day reduce him to dry land. For the proverb says:
A loyal servant dies, but shrinks From doing deeds of such a kind As bring contempt from common men And lower him in his master's mind."
To this the blessèd one replied: "O son of Vinata, your speech is justified. Because
For servants' crimes the master should Be made to suffer, say the good,
So long as he does not erase From service, cruel folk and base.
"Come, then, so that we may recover the eggs from ocean, may satisfy the plover, and then proceed to the celestial city on the gods' business." To this Garuda agreed, and the blessèd one reproached the ocean, then fitted the fire-arrow to his bow and said: "Villain, give the plover his eggs. Else, I will reduce you to dry land."
On hearing this, the ocean, while all his train shook with fright, tremblingly took the eggs and restored them to the plover, as the blessèd one directed.
"And that is why I say:
He loses fights who fights before His foeman's power is reckoned, . . . .
and the rest of it."
Now when Lively understood the matter, he asked Victor: "Tell me, comrade. What is his fighting technique?" And Victor answered: "Formerly he would lie carelessly on a slab of stone, with limbs relaxed. If today his tail is drawn in at the very first, if his four paws are bunched and his ears pricked up, and if he is watching for you while you are still far off, then you may understand that he has treachery in mind."
Hereupon Victor visited Cheek, who asked: "What have you accomplished?" And he replied: "I have already set them at odds with each other." ​"Have you really done it?" said Cheek. And Victor answered: "The outcome will show you." "Indeed," said Cheek, "it is not surprising. For the proverb says:
A well-devised estranging scheme The firmest prudence shocks, As constant floods of water split The mountains' close-piled rocks."
Then Victor continued: "Having wrought an estrangement, a man should not fail to seek his own advantage in it. As the verse puts it:
The man who studies every book And understands, yet does not look To his advantage, learns in vain; His books are merely mental strain."
"But in the final analysis," said Cheek, "there is no such thing as personal advantage. For
Since worms and filth and ashes cling, The body is a loathsome thing; What statecraft therefore may there be In hurting it vicariously?"
"Ah," replied Victor, "you have no comprehension of the devious ways of statesmanship, the basic support of the profession of counselor. On this point there is a verse:
Let your speech like sugar be, Steel your heart remorselessly; Never draw a doubtful breath: Pay for suffered wrongs with death.
And another thing. This Lively, even when killed will provide us with nourishment. For you know, ​
The wise who wrongs another, Pursuing selfish good, Should keep his plans a secret, As Smart did in the wood."
"How was that?" asked Cheek. And Victor told the story of
SMART, THE JACKAL