The Deer, the Woodpecker and the Tortoise
Also known as Kurunga Jataka
- 3 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Jataka Tales
A deer, a woodpecker and a tortoise lived beside the same lake and were friends.
A hunter set a noose on the path the deer used to come down to drink, and one night the deer put his foot in it and was caught fast.
He called out, and his two friends came.
What each could do
The tortoise could cut. Slowly, and it would take most of the night, but he could get through a leather noose with his jaws if he was given time.
The woodpecker could not cut anything.
So they divided the work exactly according to what each was capable of, which is the whole point of the story.
The tortoise started on the noose.
And the woodpecker flew to the hunter's house to make sure he did not arrive before the tortoise had finished.
Delaying a man
He got there before dawn and waited at the front door.
When the hunter came out, the woodpecker flew straight at his face, and the hunter took it as a bad omen at the start of a day's work and went back inside.
He waited a while and then came out of the back door instead.
The woodpecker had thought about that and was already round there, and did it again.
The hunter went back in and sat down and waited for the sun to come up properly, which cost him several hours, and by the time he set off it was well into the morning.
The last strand
At the noose, the tortoise had been working all night and had got through almost everything.
His jaws were bleeding and there was one strand left and he could not close on it any more.
And that was when the deer heard the hunter coming.
The end of it
The deer pulled with everything he had and the last strand went, and he was free.
The woodpecker went up into a tree. The deer went into the undergrowth.
And the tortoise, who could not do either, was lying exhausted in the open where the noose had been.
The hunter arrived, saw no deer, and picked up the tortoise instead, because he was not going home with nothing. He put him in a bag and hung it on a branch while he coiled up his ruined noose.
What the deer did
And then the deer walked out of the undergrowth into the open, in full view, and stood there.
The hunter dropped everything and went after him.
The deer let him get close, and then not quite close, and led him a long way off across the field, slowly, in the way that keeps a man following, and then went into the trees and lost him completely.
He circled back.
The woodpecker had already got the bag open by the time he arrived.
Moral of the story
Three friends who could each do exactly one thing, and every one of the three things was needed. The deer went into the open on purpose, which is the part that costs something.
Questions and answers
- How was the deer caught?
He put his foot into a leather noose the hunter had set on the path to the lake.
- What could the tortoise do?
Cut through the leather noose with his jaws, though it would take most of the night.
- What did the woodpecker do instead?
He flew to the hunter's house and delayed him by flying at his face at both the front and back doors.
- Why was the tortoise caught?
He was exhausted in the open after cutting all night, and could not run or fly like the other two.
- How was he rescued?
The deer walked into the open deliberately to draw the hunter away, then circled back while the woodpecker opened the bag.
Word meanings
- noose
- A loop of rope or leather that tightens when pulled.
- omen
- A sign believed to show what will happen.
- strand
- A single thread of a rope.
- undergrowth
- Low bushes growing under trees.
Questions about The Deer, the Woodpecker and the Tortoise
What is the moral of this story?
That friends with completely different abilities can each supply the one thing the others cannot, and that the rescue only works because all three take a real risk.
How is this different from The Four Friends in the Panchatantra?
The structure is similar, but here each animal's contribution is precisely matched to its ability, and the deer deliberately puts himself in danger a second time.
Is the woodpecker's delay tactic realistic?
The omen part is. A bird flying at your face on the way out of the door was taken seriously as a bad sign in many traditions.
What is this tale called in the original?
The Kurunga Jataka, named after the kurunga deer.