The Snake and the Frog

A Rajah had two sons. The eldest ascended the throne after his father's death, but fearing lest his brother might interfere with him, he ordered him to be killed.

The poor boy, hearing of this order, quietly left the house and escaped into the jungles, where he saw a snake with a frog in its mouth which it was trying to swallow.

As the young Rajah approached, he heard the frog say: "Oh, if God would only send some one to rescue me from the snake, how thankful I should be."

The Rajah, full of pity, threw a stone at the snake, and it immediately released the frog, which hopped away.

The snake remained still, dazed by the hurt received by the stone. Now, the Rajah felt sorry for it, and thought to himself: "I have taken away its natural food;" so, quickly cutting off a piece of his own flesh, he threw it to the snake, saying: "Here, take this instead."

The snake took it home, and when its wife saw it, she said: "This is very good flesh; where did you get it?"

The snake told her what had happened, and she said: "Go back to that man and reward him for what he has done."

Then the snake assumed the form of a man, and, going back to the Rajah, said: "I will be your servant, if you will take me."

The Rajah agreed, and his new servant followed him.

The frog, meantime, had also gone home and told his wife of the narrow escape he had from the snake, and how a man had saved him from its very jaws.

"Go back," said she, "and serve him, to prove your gratitude."

So he also took the form of a man and offered himself as a servant to the Rajah. "Come," said he, "and we three will live together."

Then they entered a city belonging to a great King, and the three of them offered to work for him.

"But," said the young Rajah, "I will only work on condition that you pay me a thousand rupees a day."

To this the King agreed, and they were employed by him.

The young Rajah gave his own two followers one hundred rupees a day; and, after putting aside one hundred for his own requirements, distributed the rest in charity.

One day the King went to take a bath in the tank, or pond, and while bathing, his ring slipped off and fell into the water.

He therefore called the young Rajah and said to him: "Go and get my ring which is in that tank."

This made the youth very sad, "For," thought he, "how am I to get a ring from the bottom of a tank?"

But his servant who had once been a frog begged him not to be sad, and said: "I will get it for you."

So, quickly taking his old form, he dived into the water and restored the ring to his master, who took it to the King.

Some time after this the King's daughter was bitten by a snake, and in great danger of death. "Make my child well," demanded the King of the young Rajah. But this was hard to do, and the youth became sadder than ever.

"Do not despair," said his servant who had once been a snake, "but put me into the room where the child is, for I understand the treatment for snake-bite."

As soon as this was done he sucked out all the poison, and the child recovered.

This so delighted the King that he called the young Rajah and offered him his daughter in marriage as a reward.

So the marriage took place, and they lived happily ever afterwards.