Fables from India

Message:
Wickedness Yields to Wisdom

The fable's moral:
Wickedness Yields to Wisdom

Another way of saying it:
Smart defeats evil

A fable from India:

A jackdaw (a crow-like bird) once ran up to a glow-worm (a glowing beetle) and was about to seize him. "Wait a moment, good friend," said the worm; "and you shall hear something to your advantage."

"Ah! what is it?" said the daw.

"I am but one of the many glow-worms that live in this forest. If you wish to have them all, follow me," said the glowworm.

"Certainly!" said the daw.

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Then the glow-worm led him to a place in the wood where a fire had been kindled by some woodmen, and pointing to the sparks flying about, said, "There you'll find the glow-worms warming themselves round a fire. When you have done with them, I shall show you some more, at a distance from this place."

The daw darted at the sparks, and tried to swallow some of them; but his mouth being burnt by the attempt, he ran away exclaiming, "Ah, the glow-worm is a dangerous little creature!"

Said the glow-worm with pride, "Wickedness yields to wisdom!"

Comment:

The glow-worm gets himself out of a deadly situation, teaching the daw lessons about greed and gullibility along the way.

I'm not sure I buy that the fable is about wisdom so much as cleverness and the ability to talk oneself out of a sticky situation.

Wickedness yields to wisdom and more Indian fables with morals.

More fables from India.

More stories with morals.

Storytelling to improve behavior.

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