Once upon a time, a king got lost in a dense forest. After several hours, he was very
thirsty.
Suddenly, he saw tiny drops of water falling from a tree branch.
The king collected the water by making a bowl with leaves. As soon as the bowl had a considerable quantity of water and the king wanted to take a drink, a parrot swopped and snatched the bowl, spilling all the water.
The king thought that the bird must be thirsty too, so wanted to drink but by mistake, it spilled the water.
With the thought, the king started again to fill the bowl of leaves.
After a long time, the bowl got filled again. As soon as the king happily picked up the bowl, the parrot swopped again and spilled all the water!
The king got very angry, picked up a stick, attacked the parrot and killed it.
The king thought that now, I will be able to collect water and quench my thirst peacefully. Thinking this, he went back to the place where the water was being collected and the ground beneath his feet slipped and he fell.
When he looked up, he saw a poisonous snake sleeping on a branch of the tree and saliva dripping from the snake’s mouth.
What the king thought was water, was actually the poisonous saliva of the snake!!
The king’s was filled with remorse. He said, ‘Alas! If I had controlled my anger by following the path of forgiveness shown by the saints, then the innocent bird that was my saviour would not have lost its life.
The king said, “Now, my thoughtless action will always be a cause of trouble and regret throughout my life because I killed my saviour”.
Lesson: Snap decisions and unrestrained actions are dangerous, destructive!