Book cover
(source: petama)
As I continue to read these stories, I feel like the stories that are written in a more simplistic sense have a much better chance to get the message across that it's trying to convey. I feel like the stories that have a good amount of length sometimes have the tendency to lose the message.
The patient buffalo was an amazing story. I feel like the message in that all came down to loving everyone. The buffalo did not want to hurt the monkey even though he was causing him pain. He understood that there were reasons in which the monkey acted in this foolish manner.
The goblin town was definitely an interesting one. I'm not sure if it had an exact message to take from it. If I had to guess, I would say that the message is to take truth in the words of your companions when it comes to sketchy situations as they are more than likely looking out for your safety.
The quarrelsome quails was a story with a clear message. The king gave the instructions for the quails to never be caught again. A few of them decided that they would not follow this advice and they were killed while the ones who followed the king's words were never caught and lived happily.
The forest fire story had be going for a second. I was almost determined that the little quail was going to be killed! Luckily, the story conveys the message that even the littlest voice can make the biggest difference and affect the people around him in the largest ways.
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Bibliography: Inayat's Twenty Jataka Tales
Link to these stories
I haven't read any of these tales yet, but just from previous fables and the stories written on these blogs, I agree that the simplest stories often best convey important lessons. If the story gets too long or detailed, then there is more information to ponder and weigh instead of having a straight forward moral. The patient buffalo and the goblin town sound like stories I'll certainly have to look up!
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