The Cat's Judgement
Also known as Billi Ka Insaaf
- 3 minute read
- Ages 7-11
- Panchatantra Stories
A partridge had a comfortable hole at the foot of a tree, and one season he went away with a flock to a field of ripe rice and did not come back for some weeks.
While he was gone, a hare found the hole empty and moved in.
The dispute
When the partridge returned he found the hare asleep in his house and told him to get out.
"It is mine now," said the hare. "It was empty. An empty hole belongs to whoever is in it. That is the rule."
"It was empty because I was away. It is mine because I dug it."
"For how long does a thing stay yours after you leave it?"
They argued about this all morning and got nowhere, because both of them had a point and neither would move.
"We need someone to decide," said the hare at last.
"Who?"
The judge
"There is a cat by the river," said the hare. "I have seen him. He stands in the water on one leg with his eyes shut, facing the sun, and he never touches a living thing. He is famously holy. Everybody says so."
They went to look.
The cat was exactly as described: motionless in the shallows, eyes closed, arms raised, saying his prayers out loud in a steady voice.
The partridge was doubtful.
"He is a cat."
"He is a holy man," said the hare. "Look at him."
The hearing
They stopped at a safe distance and called out their case across the water.
The cat did not open his eyes.
"My children," he said, "I am very old and I am very deaf. I can hear that you are speaking and I cannot make out a word of it. Come nearer. Come close enough that I can hear you properly, and tell me the whole thing slowly, and I will judge between you fairly."
They looked at each other.
He had not moved. He had not looked at them. He had been standing there in the water on one leg the whole time.
So they came closer.
And he had them both, one in each paw, before either of them had finished the first sentence.
Moral of the story
Two people who cannot agree will hand the decision to almost anybody. Ask what the judge gets out of it before you go anywhere near him.
Questions and answers
- Why did the hare move into the hole?
The partridge had been away for weeks and the hole was empty, so the hare took it.
- What was each animal's argument?
The partridge said it was his because he dug it. The hare said an empty hole belongs to whoever is in it.
- Why did they choose the cat as judge?
He stood in the river with his eyes shut saying prayers and never touched a living thing, so he seemed holy and impartial.
- What did the cat ask them to do?
To come closer, because he claimed to be old and deaf and unable to hear them from a distance.
- What warning signs did they ignore?
He was a cat, he never opened his eyes to look at them, and the only thing he asked for was that they come within reach.
Word meanings
- partridge
- A plump ground-nesting bird.
- dispute
- An argument or disagreement.
- impartial
- Not favouring one side over the other.
- motionless
- Not moving at all.
Questions about The Cat's Judgement
What is the moral of The Cat's Judgement?
That people in a dispute become careless about who they trust to settle it. Both animals ignored an obvious danger because they wanted the argument over.
How is this like The Jackal and the Otters?
Both are about a third party profiting from a quarrel. In the Jataka version the judge takes the fish; here the judge takes the arguers.
Is the cat's disguise clever?
Its cleverness is that he never approaches them. He gives them a reason to come to him, so they choose their own danger.
Is the ending too harsh for children?
It is stated in one line with nothing described. Most Indian schoolbooks carry it for ages seven and above.