Week 12: Reading Notes - The Crab and the Crane Part B

The Crab and the Crane

I choose to read the Jatakas tales because I really enjoy reading short stories. Short stories have to be good when they start to get people’s attention so they keep on reading. The short stories have to quickly develop and form because there his not much time to grab the attention of the readers. This story got my attention when it first started because of the characters and because of the setting of the story. I could really imagine the story as it was going on. Another great thing about this short story us that there was a meaning behind it for the readers. The moral of the story shows how Karma works and how ‘what goes around comes around’. The Crane first seemed to be a good friend who wanted to help out the Fishes but then his true colors came out and we see that it was all just a show. He was being selfish and just wanting to kill and eat the fishes for himself. The Crane was smart because he first gained the fishes trust then slowly just started eating them one by one as he was tricking them by saying there is another place with more water. The innocent fishes were suffering with little water so they had no other option besides trusting the Crane. Later on in the story we see how Karma plays a roll in this story. The Crane got what he deserved in the end. The Crab was very clever when the Crane approached them. He was grabbing the Crane by his neck just incase something happened he can just snap his claw and kill him by his neck. The Crane died exactly where he killed the other fishes so it was a full circle. Something great to learn from this what goes around will come around.

The crane tricking the fishes. Source. 

The Carb and the Crane. Source. More Jataka Tales By Ellen C. Babbitt 2015.