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Kukaddam


Foxes are very sly animals. There was one very cunning fox. He was craftier than all the rest. He would steal barfi, ghaari, mesub, and other sweets from the sweet shop regularly. The shop owner saw his stock lessen everyday. ''I'll have to catch the thief,'' he thought to himself.

That night the owner sat awake. Two o'clock at night the fox came. The shop owner felled him with a chair. He then dragged the fox outside. The fox was still alive. He decided to just lay there and pretend to be dead. The next morning the village got together. They found out that the sweet shop owner had killed a fox. It was decided to punish the owner. The fox lay quietly listening to everything. He thought it right that the owner be punished.
After a little while a carpenter came by. He said to the shop owner, ''I'd like to take away the fox's tail.'' The owner said, ''Take it. Cut it off.''

The fox decided, ''Let him take my tail. I won't say a word. But I want that shop owner punished.'' The carpenter cut off the fox's tail and went away pleased. After a little while another man was passing. He said to the shop owner, ''I'd like the fox's ears.'' ''Cut them and take them,'' replied the owner. He did so. A third man arrived, he said, ''I'd like the fox's teeth.'' Hearing this the fox thought. ''If this goes on I'll end up really dead. How will I eat without teeth?'' And so he jumped up and ran for his very life. And now it so happened that a dyer was making colour in a small pit. The fox jumped into it. When he came out he was coloured red and yellow all over. No one recognised the strangely coloured fox with no ears and no tail. All the animals were scared of him and would run away on his approach. The fox named himself Kukaddam. He began making plans to become king of the forest. One day he proudly declared to those who were frightened of him, ''I am king of the forest. You shall all obey me from now onwards.'' All the wild animals began to come to him and pay homage.

For his protection the fox placed sentries in three circles around him. In the inner circle near to him there were only foxes. In the next circle were men and finally the tigers and lions. He ordered them, ''You should stand guard six kilometres distant from here.'' Two months passed in this way. Winter arrived. The foxes began to howl in the cold. Kukaddam would also quietly howl with those foxes around him.

In the colder months they would howl more. One day the tiger and lion said to themselves, ''We're the original kings of the forest, and so it is not right that we are not allowed to go near the king.'' They went to Kukaddam with their request, ''Sire, we were the previous kings of the forest. For two months the foxes have stayed near Your Highness. Please send them away and let us stay close to you as your personal bodyguards. Kukaddam could not stop himself from saying yes. The tiger and lion stood close to him as guards.

In the cold Kukaddam felt an urge to howl as before. In the distance the other foxes began to howl. But what could he do. If he howled he would be caught and everyone would kill him. The cold soon increased and the desire to howl became even greater. Kukaddam would make strange noises in his throat, ''Oohoo, Oohoo,'' The lion asked him, ''Sire, what is wrong? Does your stomach hurt?'' What answer could the fox give. Slowly, the noises increased and then Kukaddam couldn't resist any longer - he began to howl.

The lion at once realised, ''This Kukaddam is a fox! He's fooling us.'' With one pounce he killed the pretender. The truth can never be hidden for long. Even by eating garlic in secret its smell cannot be hidden. In the same way, just by wearing the clothes of a sadhu and declaring oneself to be a great soul one does not become so. Such an impostor is sure to be exposed.

One should become a real sadhu. Weakness for the sense pleasures can be compared to Kukaddam's howling.

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