The Jackal Who Would Be King
Also known as Sigala Jataka
- 3 minute read
- Ages 7-11
- Jataka Tales
A jackal found a dead lion in the forest and worked out, over a couple of days, what he could do with it.
He got the skin off and dried it and wore it, and after that he could walk anywhere.
The deer scattered. The boar went into the undergrowth. Nothing in that forest would come near him, and he ate what he liked and slept where he liked and was, within a month, the most powerful animal in the district.
Being king
He was not stupid about it.
He knew that a lion who never roars is suspicious, so he had thought about that. And he knew that a jackal cannot roar.
So he simply never made any sound at all. He walked in silence, ate in silence, and let the skin do everything, and it worked for nearly a year.
Then he decided he wanted to be properly acknowledged, which is where it went wrong.
The gathering
He called all the animals of the forest together at the foot of the hill, which they came to, because he was the king.
He stood on a rock above them where they could all see him.
And he thought: a king should speak at his own gathering. It is not enough to be feared. They should hear from me.
He had spent a year being careful. He was not careful for the four seconds that mattered.
He opened his mouth and howled.
Afterwards
Several hundred animals stood at the bottom of that hill and heard a jackal.
And there is a moment in the story that is worth noticing, which is that they did not attack him immediately. They looked at each other first. The whole gathering worked it out at the same time, in silence, and then the lion who had been standing at the front because he was the king's deputy walked up the rock.
The jackal ran, and he was fast, and it did not help.
And the story adds one line at the end which is the reason it is still told.
He had eaten well for a year and would have gone on eating well for years more. Nobody was looking for him. The skin had never once failed.
He was not caught out. He gave himself away, at a gathering he had called himself, for no reason except that he wanted to be heard.
Moral of the story
The disguise held for a year. What ended it was not a mistake and not bad luck. It was wanting the credit as well as the position.
Questions and answers
- How did the jackal become king of the forest?
He found a dead lion, took its skin, dried it and wore it, and every animal fled from him.
- Why did he never make a sound?
He knew a jackal cannot roar, so silence was the only way to keep the disguise safe.
- Why did he call the gathering?
He wanted to be properly acknowledged as king rather than merely feared.
- What gave him away?
He howled, and several hundred animals heard a jackal instead of a lion.
- What does the story point out at the end?
That nobody was looking for him and the disguise had never failed. He gave himself away for no reason but wanting to be heard.
Word meanings
- undergrowth
- Low bushes and plants growing under trees.
- acknowledged
- Recognised or accepted publicly.
- deputy
- A person who is second in command.
- gathering
- A meeting of many people or animals.
Questions about The Jackal Who Would Be King
What is the moral of The Jackal Who Would Be King?
That pride undoes what caution built. The disguise was perfect and the jackal ruined it himself for recognition he did not need.
How is this different from The Blue Jackal?
In the Panchatantra the blue jackal is caught out by instinct when he hears other jackals howling. Here it is a deliberate choice made at a meeting he arranged, which is worse.
Is this the same as the Aesop fable about the donkey in the lion's skin?
They share the setup, but the Aesop version ends with a bray of pleasure and this one with a planned public speech.
Is anything violent described?
No. The story ends with him running, and nothing further is shown.