A tiger, a hunter, a bear and fear..... - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

A tiger, a hunter, a bear and fear..... -  Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Once in a forest, a hunter without weapons, on being chased by a tiger climbed up a tree.

There was a bear sitting on top of the tree, watching this.  On seeing the bear the hunter got terrified and begged for his life. The bear promised not to hurt the hunter as he is its guest.

The tiger was waiting under the tree as it could not climb up. It was very hungry, so it wanted to gobble up the hunter.

The tiger requested the bear to push the hunter down, so that it could kill him and appease its hunger. The bear refused to do so, saying that the hunter was its guest and it was its moral duty to extend hospitality to guests. But, the tiger continued to wait under the tree.

After some time, the bear started to doze off. Noticing this, the tiger addressed the hunter, "O man, I am very hungry. I will not move out from here till my hunger is satiated. Do not believe this bear, it will definitely  kill you once it starts feeling hungry. For me , it does not matter whether I eat you or the bear. I will go back once my hunger is satiated. Now, the bear is dozing. So, push it down without delay. I will eat it and spare you.

The man did not have the morality of even the bear. He thought he could escape from the clutches of the tiger by offering the bear as bait.

So, he committed the ungrateful act of pushing the bear down. As luck would have it, the bear, as it was falling, caught hold of a branch, climbed up and saved itself from the tiger.

Then the tiger now said, "O bear, you should never believe the human beings. This hunter tried to harm you, though you were kind enough to give him shelter and protect him. So, without further delay, push the ungrateful wretch down, I shall devour him".

But the bear said, "I have done my duty. I have saved the hunter and GOD saved me. Each one has to face the consequences of his own actions. I will not harm him just because he tried to harm me."