The Woodpecker and the Lion
Also known as Javasakuna Jataka
- 2 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Jataka Tales
A lion was eating and swallowed carelessly, and a bone went into the roof of his mouth and stuck there.
It was agony. He could not eat and could not sleep. He lay in the grass with his mouth half open, getting weaker, and could do nothing about it at all.
The offer
A woodpecker landed on a branch above him and looked down.
"You are in trouble."
"There is a bone in my mouth," said the lion. "I cannot reach it."
"I could," said the woodpecker. "But I am not putting my head in there while you can shut it."
So she found a stick and had him bite down on it, wedging his jaws apart. Then she went in, walked up the roof of his mouth, took hold of the bone and worked it loose, and came out with it.
Then she knocked the stick away and the lion's mouth closed.
He rolled over and lay there breathing for a while, and then he got up and went hunting, and said nothing to her at all.
Some time later
Weeks afterwards the woodpecker was hungry, and she saw the lion in a clearing eating a deer he had brought down.
She flew over and landed nearby, politely, and waited to be noticed.
The lion looked up.
"What do you want?"
"I helped you once," she said. "I wondered whether you might spare a little."
The lion put his head down and went on eating.
"I remember," he said, with his mouth full. "You put your head between a lion's teeth and I let you take it out again. That was your payment. It was generous. I do not know what more you think you are owed."
The woodpecker sat on the branch for a moment.
Then she flew off, and she did not go near him again, and when other birds asked her about him she told them exactly what he was.
Moral of the story
Doing a favour does not create a debt in someone who never intended to pay one. Choose carefully who you spend your help on.
Questions and answers
- What was wrong with the lion?
A bone had lodged in the roof of his mouth and he could not eat, sleep or reach it himself.
- How did the woodpecker protect herself?
She made him bite down on a stick so his jaws could not close while she was inside his mouth.
- What did the lion do after she removed the bone?
He got up and went hunting without thanking her or saying anything at all.
- What did the woodpecker ask for later?
A small share of the deer he was eating, since she had helped him when he needed it.
- What was the lion's answer?
That letting her take her head out of his mouth alive had been her payment, and she was owed nothing more.
Word meanings
- agony
- Extremely severe pain.
- wedging
- Forcing something into a gap to hold it open.
- clearing
- An open space in a forest.
- spare
- To give away part of what you have.
Questions about The Woodpecker and the Lion
What is the moral of The Woodpecker and the Lion?
That some people will never repay a kindness, and that being useful to them creates no obligation on their side. It is worth knowing who you are helping.
How is this similar to the Aesop fable of the wolf and the crane?
It is almost the same story with different animals, which tells you how far these tales travelled. Both traditions independently kept a version.
Is the woodpecker foolish for helping?
The story does not say so. It says she was wise to protect herself with the stick, and wise afterwards to stop expecting anything and warn others.
What is this tale called in the original?
The Javasakuna Jataka, meaning 'the swift bird'.