Panchatantra Stories – Think Before You Advice

One day, two sparrows were seated in their nest on top of a tree. It was raining heavily, but they were seated comfortably in their nest under the shade of the large tree. They were talking happily and everything was well until a monkey came running to take shelter under the tree.

The monkey was drenched from top to bottom due to the heavy rain and seeing this, one of the sparrows started to take pity on him. He spoke to the other sparrow and said that he wanted to help the monkey somehow. The other sparrow asked how a tiny sparrow could help a big monkey like him. To this, the other sparrow responded by saying that he was ready to help in any way possible even if it was just by giving some advice.

Once again, the other sparrow cautioned him against doing such a thing because the monkey may be short tempered. But the other sparrow brushed this worry aside and decided to go ahead and advise the monkey.

He called out to the monkey and started to advise him. The sparrow asked him as to why he (a monkey as big and strong as a human) could not build a house when even a small sparrow such as himself could build a nest. After hearing this, the monkey flew into a rage and climbed up the tree in a frenzy. He went to the sparrows’ nest and ripped it to shreds. The sparrows had no other choice other than to fly away in the heavy rain.

Moral – One must always be careful when advising others. Though the intention of the helper may be noble, the receiver may take it badly.