Kids · 3 minThe Blue Jackal

Once there was a jackal named Chandarava who was always hungry. One evening his nose led him out of the forest and into a town, where the dogs smelled him at once. Woof! Woof! Off he ran, down one lane and up another, until he jumped over a wall and landed in a dyer's yard.

In the middle of the yard stood a big tub of blue dye, the kind the dyer used for saris. Chandarava did not see it until it was too late. SPLOOSH. In he went, right up to the tips of his ears.

When he climbed out, the dogs had gone. He shook himself, looked down at his paws, and gasped. He was blue. Not a little blue. Bright, shining, peacock-feather blue, from his nose to the end of his tail.

He crept back to the forest. The first deer who saw him dropped the grass from her mouth. The monkeys forgot to swing. Even the lion took a step backwards. Nobody had ever seen a blue animal before.

Chandarava saw their faces, and an idea came into his head. He climbed on to a big rock and spoke in his deepest voice. "Do not be afraid. The gods have painted me blue and sent me from the sky to be your king."

The animals believed him. Why not? Who else could be that colour? They brought him the sweetest fruit, the softest bed of leaves, and the best spot in the shade. The lion fanned him with a palm leaf. The elephant gave him rides. Chandarava was very pleased with himself. He was so pleased that he sent the other jackals away. "A king," he said, "cannot be seen with ordinary jackals."

For many days all went well. Then came the night of the full moon.

Far away, on the hill, the other jackals sat down together, lifted their noses to the big round moon, and began to sing. Aaooo! Aaooooo! It is the oldest jackal song there is, and no jackal in the world can hear it and stay quiet.

Chandarava tried. He pressed his lips together. He held his nose. He thought about mangoes. It was no use. Up went his blue nose, and out came the loudest Aaoooooo of all.

The forest went quiet. The deer looked at the monkeys. The monkeys looked at the lion. "That," said the lion slowly, "is not a sky king. That is a jackal who fell into something."

There was a moment of silence, and then the whole forest burst out laughing. The peacocks laughed, the parrots laughed, and the elephant laughed so hard that he had to sit down. Chandarava ran all the way to the river, and he scrubbed and scrubbed until he was a plain brown jackal again.

Then he walked up the hill, a little embarrassed, and sat down beside the other jackals. They moved over to make room for him. And on the next full moon, he sang with them, happily, as himself.