The saint and the mouse

In olden times a saint lived in the forest of Gautama. One day a crow dropped a tiny mouse near his hut.

The saint picked up the mouse and fed it every day with grains of rice. The mouse grew tame, and the saint became fond of it.

One day he saw a cat running after the mouse. It ran into his lap. With his miraculous powers the saint turned the mouse into a stout cat.

The cat lived with him happily for some time. But one day it was chased by a dog. When the dog was about to bite it, the saint turned the cat into a powerful dog.

The dog was very faithful, and the saint was happy to keep it with him.

One night the dog was lying outside the hut. It began to bark loudly when it heard a sound somewhere near the hut. At once a tiger growled and the dog ran into the hut.

The saint was awakened and thought “There are tigers and other ferocious animals in the forest. They may easily kill my faithful dog. So to keep it safe, I will turn it into a tiger.”

So the dog was at last turned into a tiger.

For some time everything went well. The saint loved him as his own mouse. The people who worked in the forest knew the matter well. Whenever they saw at the tiger they said, “The mouse has been made a tiger by our saint. So we must not be afraid of this tiger.”

The tiger took this remark as a great insult. “So long as the saint lives” thought the tiger, “I cannot escape such insults. If I kill him, no one will know that was once a mouse.”

One day the tiger was trying to spring upon the saint. The holy man became angry and at once said, “Be a mouse again, you ungrateful wretch!”

The tiger became the tiny mouse that it was before.