The Brahmin and the Mongoose

A Brahmin (a learned man) lived with his wife in a village. They had an infant son. One day, the Brahmin had to go out for some work, and his wife left to fetch water. Before going, she asked her husband to look after their baby.

The Brahmin had a pet mongoose which they had raised since it was a little creature. It roamed freely in the house and was quite friendly with the family. The Brahmin’s wife trusted the mongoose and wasn’t worried about leaving her baby with him.

When the Brahmin’s wife returned, she was horrified to see blood around the mongoose’s mouth and the baby missing from the cradle.

Thinking the mongoose had killed her son, she picked up a water pot in rage and flung it at the animal, killing it.

But then, she saw her baby lying calmly behind the cradle. Further searching revealed a dead black snake near the cradle. She realized the mongoose had actually killed the snake, saving her baby’s life. She felt heartbroken that she had killed the loyal mongoose in haste.

The Moral: We should never react in anger without understanding a situation thoroughly.