74. The Donkey and the Jackal
A farmer allowed his donkey to wander freely at night.
One night the donkey met a jackal and they became friends.
Together, they broke into a cucumber field and ate all the cucumbers they wanted.
Then the donkey decided to sing.
"Don't do that!" hissed the jackal.
But the donkey insisted on singing. "I have a lovely singing voice," he said. "You're just jealous!"
The jackal hid in the bushes and watched. The donkey sang very loudly, and finally the villagers came and cudgeled him to death.
"Music is all well and good," thought the jackal, "but silence is safer."
Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 5, Story 6. The donkey didn't die in the Panchatantra story, but I decided to make him pay the ultimate price for his mistake.
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