In the court of the king of Benares was a heron who carried messages. Once, when she was away, the boys of the palace killed her two young ones. In revenge she persuaded a tiger to eat the boys, and told the king what she had done. She then flew away to the Himālaya because, she said, there could be no friendship between the wrong-doer and the wronged one.

 

The story was told in reference to a heron of the Kosala king, who acted in a similar way (J.iii.311f).


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