Ja 275Rucira Jātaka

– Stories of the Buddha’s Former Births

– Book 3 Tikanipāta

275. Rucira Jātaka

PTS vp Pali 365 “Who is this pretty Crane,” etc.—This story the Master told at Jetavana about some greedy Brother. The two stories are just the same as the last. And these are the verses—

“Who is this pretty Crane, and why

Does he in my Crow’s basket lie?

An angry bird, my friend the Crow!

This is his nest, I’d have you know!”

“Do you not know me, friend, indeed?

Together we were used to feed!

I would not do as I was told,

So now I’m plucked, as you behold.”

“You’ll come to grief again, I know—

It is your nature to do so.

When people make a dish of meat

’Tis not for little birds to eat.”

As before, the Bodhisatta said—“I can’t live here any more,” and flew away some whither.

When this discourse was ended, the Master declared the Truths and identified the Birth—at the conclusion of the Truths, the greedy Brother attained the Fruit of the Third Path—“The greedy Brother was the Crow, and I was the Pigeon.”

The Jātaka, or Stories of the Buddha’s Former Births , edited by E.B. Cowell , published by The Cambridge University Press.

– Vol. 1, translated by Robert Chalmers , 1895.

– Vol. 2, translated by W.H.D. Rouse , 1895 .

– Vol. 3, translated by H.T. Francis and R.A. Neil , 1897.

– Vol. 4, translated by W.H.D. Rouse , 1901.

– Vol. 5, translated by H.T. Francis , 1905.

– Vol. 6, translated by E.B. Cowell and W.H.D. Rouse , 1907.

These translations are in the public domain. You are free to do whatever you like with them.

Scanned, proofed and formatted at sacred-texts.com, January 2006–February 2010, by John Bruno Hare and others. Thanks to the Sacred Texts Archive for making these texts available in digital form.