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18.THE SARANGA BIRDS
the gatekeeper said:
"There is no place here for a childless
man" and turned him back. He was then
born as a saranga bird and lived with a
female companion named Jarita. She laid
four eggs. Then he left Jarita and
wandered in the woods with another
female companion, Lapita.
The four eggs of Jarita hatched in time
and they were the four birds mentioned
above. As they were the children of a rishi
they could cheer and encourage their
mother in the way they did.
The mother bird told her children: "There
is a rat-hole by the side of this tree. I shall
put you there. You can get into the hole
and escape the fire. I shall close the mouth
of the hole with earth and the fire will not
touch you. When the fire dies down I shall
let you out."
The children would not agree. They said:
"The rat in the hole will devour us. It is
better to perish in the flames than to die
ignobly by being eaten up by rats."
The mother bird tried to relieve the fears
of the children and said: "I saw an eagle
devour the rat. There is now no danger for
you inside the hole."
But the children said: "There are sure to
be other rats in the hole. Our danger is not
ended by the killing of one rat by the
eagle. Kindly save your life by flying
before the fire reaches us and this tree
catches fire. We cannot get into the rat-
hole. Why should you sacrifice your life
for our sake? How have we merited it,
who have done nothing for you? We have
only brought you unhappiness since we
came into the world. Take another mate
and live happily."
The fire which destroyed the whole forest,
mercifully left the baby birds unscathed.
When the fire had subsided, the mother
bird came back and saw with wonder that
her children were safe and chirping
merrily. She embraced them and was
intensely happy.
While the fire was raging, the male bird,
anxious for the safety of his young ones,
had expressed his fears to his new love-
bird Lapita.
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