Once upon a time, there was a jackal who lived in a forest. He usually ate small animals and birds, but for some time now he had got nothing to eat. So, he was very hungry. Hunting around for food, he found he had strayed into a city.
Suddenly, a pack of dogs saw him and began to chase him, barking loudly. They attacked him and bit him. The terrified jackal ran helter-skelter looking for a place to hide. Suddenly, he saw an open door and rushed into a house on the road-side. He saw a large tub there in the courtyard and jumped into it to save himself
The house belonged to a man who dyed clothes and the tub was full of indigo dye. The jackal had jumped in with a splash and was covered with the dye.
After a while, the dogs went away, unable to find the jackal. So, he quietly crept out of his hiding place. He did not know that he was a bright blue colour! The indigo dye would not come off at once.
He returned to the forest still wearing his blue fur. All the animals saw this strange creature and tried to hide. “What kind of animal is this?” they asked one another, “Will he attack us?”
The jackal did not understand anything at first. But soon he found that the other animals, even lions, tigers and elephants, were afraid of him. He was delighted! Now he was the King of the forest! All the animals bowed to him. They brought him food and he had a wonderful time.
But then one day, he heard jackals howling in the distance. They were his old friends from his pack! Forgetting that he was acting as a King, he too began howling. As soon as the other animals heard him, they came to know the truth. This stupid creature was only a jackal! Angry at being fooled, they killed him immediately.
