The Fanning Swan

Near Ujjain the seat of high learning in the northern part of central India, there was a certain forest.

And in that forest by a tree, a close friendship developed between a swan and a crow.

One hot sweltering afternoon, the crow was appalled to see a strange sight.

A tired hunter was having a disturbed sleep underneath the tree. And the swan, perched on a low-hanging proximate branch, was rendering royal service by fanning him with his wings!

"You are downright mad, my noble friend! And don't you know that you are doing service to a heartless hunter of the bird kind?" chastised the crow.

The undeterred swan waved the crow away. And the crow flew back to its high perch on the tree.

After quite a while, the hunter suddenly turned wide awake — on receiving on the face a dropping let loose inadvertantly by the foolisi crow.

And concluding that it was but the swan that had done it, the hunter instinctively raised his bow and released a fatal arrow at the noble benefactor.

"The fatal friendship with the foolish!"

"Never go near or help a born enemy".