The Blue Jackal

A Hungry Jackal

In a great forest in India, long ago, there lived a jackal named Chandarava. He was thin and always hungry, for hunting was hard and food was scarce. One day his rumbling stomach led him out of the forest and into the edge of a town, hoping to find scraps to eat.

But the town was a dangerous place for a jackal. The moment the townsfolk saw him slinking between the houses, they shouted, and a pack of dogs came after him, barking and snapping at his heels.

Chandarava ran for his life. He darted down one street and up another, with the dogs close behind. In a panic, he leaped over a wall into a quiet yard — and landed with a splash! right inside a great wooden vat.

A Surprising New Colour

The vat belonged to a washerman, and it was full to the brim with deep blue indigo dye, used for colouring cloth. Chandarava scrambled out, dripping and frightened, and ran all the way back to the forest before he stopped to catch his breath.

When at last he looked down at himself, he gasped. His fur was no longer dusty brown. From his nose to the tip of his tail, he was now a brilliant, shimmering blue — a blue like no animal had ever been before.

At first Chandarava was upset. But the jackal was clever, and a sly idea began to form in his mind.

The Animals Bow Down

When the other animals of the forest saw the strange blue creature, they did not know what to make of him. The lion stared. The tiger frowned. The elephant flapped his ears in wonder. The deer, the wolves, and the rabbits all gathered round, whispering and afraid. None of them had ever seen such a beast.

Chandarava lifted his head proudly and spoke in a grand, booming voice.

"Do not be afraid, animals of the forest! I have been sent down from the heavens to be your king. The gods saw that you had no ruler, so they created me, the Blue One, to watch over you all. Bow before your king, and I shall protect every one of you."

The animals, who had never imagined such a thing, believed every word. One by one, even the mighty lion and the tiger bowed low before the Blue Jackal.

Living Like a King

And so Chandarava became king of the forest. He chose the lion and the tiger to be his ministers and bodyguards. The other animals hunted food and brought it to him, so the jackal who had once been thin and starving now ate the finest meals every single day, without lifting a paw.

He lived in comfort and splendour. But there was one thing the Blue Jackal was careful to do: he sent every jackal away to the far edges of the forest. For he was secretly afraid that his own cousins, the common jackals, might recognise him and give away his great secret.

For a long while, the trick worked beautifully, and Chandarava grew fat and content upon his throne.

The Howl That Ruined Everything

But the truth is a patient thing, and it always finds its way out.

One clear evening, as the Blue Jackal sat among his royal court, a sound drifted across the forest. Far away, a pack of jackals had lifted their noses to the moon and begun to howl — that wild, yipping, unmistakable jackal howl.

When Chandarava heard it, something deep inside him stirred. It was the song of his own kind, the call he had answered all his life. He forgot himself completely. He threw back his head and — before he could stop himself — he howled too, long and loud, just like the jackal he truly was.

The whole court froze. The lion's eyes narrowed. The tiger's ears went flat. Slowly, the animals understood. A king sent from the heavens does not howl like a common jackal in the night.

"He tricked us!" roared the lion. "He is no king at all — he is only an ordinary jackal who fell into a pot of blue dye!"

The animals were furious to have been fooled for so long. They surrounded the trembling Chandarava, and the false king had to flee for his life back into the deep forest, his fine days as king finished forever.

---

The moral: You can hide the truth for a while, but sooner or later your true nature will show. It is far better to be proud of who you really are than to live a lie.

Want more world folktales? Try The Fox and the Grapes or The Crow and the Pitcher next.