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A Jataka Story

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One day, a rabbit was resting under a tree.

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Suddenly a hard fruit fell off the tree and struck his head.

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The fruit rolled over dry palm leaves making some sounds. The rabbit thought the Earth

was going to break. He started to run.

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He met a second rabbit and asked him to run ‘cause he believed the Earth was going to break.

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Soon many rabbits were running. A deer also joined the rabbits in the running.

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When a pig heard that the Earth was breaking, he too decided to save himself.

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Very soon, many other animals were fleeing through the jungle.

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When a lion heard that the Earth was breaking, he thought it was impossible.

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The lion roared from the top of a hill.

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All the animals stopped. They told the lion the Earth was breaking.

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When the lion asked who had seen the breaking, many animals singled out their friends.

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Finally the rabbit was brought to the lion. He told the lion what happened under the tree where he was resting.

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The rabbit told about the loud sound he had heard. The lion thought that it could not be due to the Earth breaking.

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The elephant decided to bring the rabbit to the spot to investigate.

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And so the lion went off with the rabbit.

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On reaching the place, the lion asked the rabbit to point out the place where the rabbit had heard the loud sound.

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Upon investigation, the lion found out that it was a hard fruit falling on to dry leaves that caused the sounds.

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Returning to the waiting animals, the lion explained everything. He told all the animals to always check things out and not merely listen to rumors.

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The End

Think carefully before you act

Don’t panic

Don’t spread rumors

With Metta, Bro. Oh Teik Bin