Reading Notes: Jataka Anthology

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit by Ellen C. Babbitt

1. Characters:
1. The First Rabbit - dramatic, foolish, easily frightened
2. The Followers - rabbits, deer, fox, elephant
3. The King Lion - wise, leader
2. Plot:
1. A rabbit awakens to the sound of a coconut hitting the ground, and immediately thinks it is the sound of the earth cracking apart. He runs through the wood, telling everyone he

   

   The Jataka in a nutshell

   meets the terrible news, until the entire forest is running with him. When the frightened animals come to the King Lion, he wisely tries to get to the source of the information. The Lion talks with the rabbit, and eventually finds the truth: the rabbit was frightened by a falling coconut. 

The Turtle and The King by Ellen C. Babbitt

1. Characters:
1. King - benevolent, superstitious
2. Princes - young, playful, easily frightened
3. Turtle - clever, misunderstood
2. Plot:
1. A group of young princes find a turtle in a lake, and immediately think the turtle is a terrifying demon. Their father, the king, orders that the turtle be caught and killed. As the king and his men are discussing how to kill the "demon," one man suggests that they throw it into the water. The clever turtle acts most frightened by this suggestion, so the king orders that the turtle be thrown into the lake to die. However, when this is done, the turtle happily is returned to his home, where he is safe.

The Turtle and The Geese by Ellen C. Babbitt

1. Characters:
1. Geese - friendly
2. Turtle - friendly, prideful, foolish
2. Plot:
1. Two geese and a Turtle become friends and the geese offer to give the turtle a lift to their beautiful home. To accomplish this, the Turtle must hold onto a branch with his mouth that the geese would carry all the way to their house. Despite the geese's warning not to speak, lest he fall, the Turtle cannot help himself but open his mouth. The Turtle heard children making fun of him, and he opened his mouth to defend his pride, letting go of the branch and falling to his death. 

The Cunning Crane and The Crab by W. H. D. Rouse 

1. Characters:
1. Fish - cautious, gullible
2. Crane - clever, liar, prideful
3. Crab - cautious, wise, more clever
2. Plot:
1. A cunning Crane tricks an entire pool of fish into jumping into his mouth by promising them safe passage to a large, beautiful lake. At first, the fish are skeptical of the Crane's intentions, so the Crane offers to take one of them to see the lake for themselves. He carries a one-eyed fish to the lake and back, where the one-eyed fish reports to his fish friends of the beautiful lake he saw. The Crane, having gained their trust, systematically carries every fish in the pool away to be eaten, until only a Crab remains. The Crab was much wiser than the fish, and tricked the Crane into letting him hold onto his neck on the journey. When the Crab mentions to the Crane that he is not going the right way to the lake, the latter pridefully says that he was tricking the Crab and all the fish the whole time. However, because the Crab had the Crane by the neck, he demands the Crane take him to the lake. Once there, the Crab nips the head off of the Crane.

The Crocodile and The Monkey's Heart by Marie L. Shedlock

1. Characters:
1. Bobhisatta (Monkey) - strong, naive, clever
2. Crocodile - scheming, foolish
2. Plot:
1. A crocodile's wife wants to eat the heart of the great Monkey king, so her husband contrives a way to trap the monkey and get it for her. He offers the Monkey a ride across the Ganges, telling him there are better fruits on the other side. The Monkey naively trusts the Crocodile and gets on his back, but when the Crocodile begins to drown the Monkey, the latter quickly tells the crocodile that his heart is kept in a tree on the bank. The quick-witted Monkey is brought back to shore by the Crocodile, and he escapes. 

The Crocodile in The River by Robert Chalmers

1. Characters:
1. Bodhisatta/The Master/The Monkey - wise, intelligent, cunning
2. Devadatta/Crocodile - clever, not clever enough
2. Plot:
1. The Master tells a story of a previous time that Devadatta tried, and failed to kill him. Once when the Master was a monkey, a crocodile's wife wanted to eat his heart. Her mate promised he would get it for her, and devised a plan to capture the Monkey. The Monkey had a habit of jumping from his island to a large rock then onto the shore, so the Crocodile decided to wait on the rock for the Monkey to jump onto him. But the wise Monkey realized the rock was too tall, so he called out to it and the Crocodile revealed his plan. The clever Monkey tricked the Crocodile by pretending that all was lost, and told the Crocodile to open his mouth so he could jump in. However, when the Crocodile opened his mouth, and naturally closed his eyes, the Monkey jumped on top of him and then on to safety. 

The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses by Robert Chalmers

1. Characters:
1. Devadatta (as a monkey) - fearful, evil, scheming, power-hungry
2. Bodhisatta (as Devadatta's son) - cautious, observant, dexterous, valorous, resourceful
2. Plot:
1. Devadatta was king of the monkeys, and to remain so he gelded all of his male offspring. Bodhisatta's mother ran away with him before he was born in order to protect him. Eventually, Bodhisatta wants to meet his father, so his mother cautiously takes him to him. When they meet, Devadatta immediately fears Bodhisatta's strength and devises a way to kill him. Devadatta tells his son that he wants to make him the new king, and that he must gather lotuses from a nearby body of water. However, Devadatta knew that this ogre was ruled by an ogre who would surely eat the boy. Bodhisatta skillfully avoids the ogre and gathers all the lotuses, impressing the ogre so much that he supports Bodhisatta's claim as king. 

The Self-Willed Deer by Robert Chalmers

1. Characters: 
1. Bodhisatta/The Master - wise, teacher
2. Unruly Brother/Nephew deer - selfish, lazy, unteachable
2. Plot:
1. In response to a young Brother's unruly behavior, the Master tells this story of his previous life. As a young deer, the unruly Brother was nephew to the Master. The Master was supposed to teach the young deer how to be a deer, but the selfish young one never showed up for his lessons. As a result, the young deer did not learn the ruses of deer and was caught in a hunter's snare and killed. The unruly Brother did not understand the meaning of the story.

   

   The Master trying to teach the Unruly Brother

Noisy Out of Season by Robert Chalmers 

1. Characters:
1. The Master/Bodhisatta (human) - wise, teacher
2. Noisy Brother/Cock - raised poorly, noisy, foolish
2. Plot:
1. When a Brother under the Master did not know how to be quiet at the right time, the Master told him the story of a cock with the same issue. The cock, being raised in a cemetery, always crowed at the wrong hour, so the boys it woke up strangled him in order to get some sleep. 

Goblin City by W. H. D. Rouse

1. Characters:
1. She-Goblins - wicked, cunning, magical
2. Captain - observant, intelligent
3. Kind Fairy - benevolent, kind
2. Plot:
1. In a city of she-goblins, the residents trick men into becoming their husbands only to eat them later. The goblins fool an entire ship of sailors to become their husbands. One night, the captain awakens to see his goblin-wife eating her former husband. Realizing the goblins' plans, he tells his men what he saw. Some believed, some didn't. A kind fairy sends her winged horse to rescue the men, but some stay behind. Those that did were eaten by the goblins.