In a certain town, there lived an old merchant by the name of Kamatura. After the death of his wife, he became so love-sick that he gave a lot of money to another merchant so that he could marry his young daughter. However, his new wife was very unhappy and would not even look at her old husband. This is quite understandable, as they say: ‘Young girls reject a man whose hair have turned grey, They shrink from a limp and bent body.’
Now, one night, as the young wife was lying in bed with her face turned away from her husband, a thief crept into the house. The girl was so terrified when she saw him that she turned and clasped her husband fervently. The old man was delighted beyond words but thought to himself, ‘I wonder how it is that she is hugging me so tight.’ He was peering cautiously about the room when he caught sight of the thief in the corner. Then he realized that she was hugging him because she was afraid of the thief. He cried out to the thief, ‘My benefactor! Thank you! This woman was avoiding me but today she is hugging me lovingly in her arms! My good fellow, take away whatever you want!’
‘Well,’ replied the thief, ‘I can’t see anything here worth stealing at the moment, but I’ll come back some other time to try my luck and to oblige you, in case your wife does not continue to behave lovingly towards you.
“And so,” continued Deeptaksha, “that’s why I said, ‘even a thief proved beneficial to an old man.’ So why shouldn’t. this crow, who is seeking protection, be beneficial to us? The other crows have treated him badly, so he will certainly tell us their weak points. Under no circumstances should he be killed.”
When Arimaradana had heard Deeptaksha’s advice, he turned to Vakranasa and said to him, “My dear fellow, what would you suggest under the circumstances?”
“My Lord,” he replied, “this crow should not be killed, for they say: ‘If discord arises between your enemies, You stand to benefit: In the same way, the thief and the Rakshasa quarreled And the Brahmin saved his life and his calves as well.’ “
“How was that?” asked Arimaradana.
And Vakranasa told: THE STORY OF THE BRAHMIN, THE THIEF, AND THE RAKSHASA
