The Blue Jackal

Told in English, Telugu.

Long, long ago, at the edge of a big green forest, there lived a jackal named Chandarava. He had a bushy tail, pointy ears, and a tummy that was almost always grumbling.

One evening, when the sun was going down, Chandarava's tummy grumbled louder than ever. There was nothing to eat in the forest that day. So he crept quietly towards the village nearby, sniffing here and sniffing there.

But the village dogs smelled him. Woof! Woof! Woof! Out they came, barking and running after him. Chandarava ran as fast as his legs could go. He dashed past the houses, past the well, and into the backyard of the village dyer, the man who coloured cloth for everyone.

In that yard stood a huge tub full of blue dye. Chandarava did not see it in the dark. Splash! In he fell, right up to his ears.

He kept very, very still inside the tub until the barking dogs went away. Then he scrambled out, shook himself, and ran all the way back to the forest.

The next morning, Chandarava went to drink water at the pond. He looked down into the water, and he jumped back in surprise. A bright blue animal was looking up at him! He looked again. The blue animal had his ears, his nose, his bushy tail.

"Is that me?" he whispered. "I am blue! Blue from nose to tail!"

Just then a rabbit hopped by. When she saw him, she squeaked and ran. A deer saw him and leaped away into the bushes. Even a big bear stopped and stared with wide eyes.

Chandarava scratched his head. "They are afraid of me," he thought. "No one has ever seen a blue animal before." And then a clever, sneaky idea came into his head.

He climbed onto a big rock in the middle of the forest and called out in his loudest voice, "Come here, all you animals! Do not be afraid. Come and listen!"

Slowly, one by one, they came. Rabbits and deer, monkeys and bears, even the mighty lion and the striped tiger. They all gathered around the rock.

Chandarava puffed out his chest. "Look at my colour," he said. "The Goddess of the Forest herself has made me blue. She has sent me to be your king. From today, you must all listen to me."

The animals whispered to each other. "A blue king! Sent by the Goddess!" And because they had never seen anything like him, they believed him. They bowed their heads.

So the blue jackal became king of the forest. The lion brought him the best food. The tiger guarded his cave. The monkeys fanned him with big leaves. The elephants carried water for his bath, though of course he was very careful never to get too wet.

Now, what about the other jackals, his own family and friends? They came to see him, wagging their tails happily. But Chandarava frowned at them.

"Go away," he said. "A king does not play with plain grey jackals. Lions and tigers are my friends now." And he sent them away from his cave.

The jackals walked off with their tails hanging low. They felt very sad. "He has forgotten who he is," said one little jackal. "He has forgotten us."

But an old, wise jackal with white whiskers smiled gently. "Do not worry, children," she said. "A colour can change on the outside, but not on the inside. Wait until the full moon comes. Then we will all sing our old jackal song together, just like we always do."

The days passed. The blue king grew prouder and prouder. Then came a night when the moon rose round and bright, like a big silver plate over the forest.

The king was sitting in front of his cave with the lion on one side and the tiger on the other. Everything was quiet.

Then, from far away, came a sound. Can you guess what it was?

Aoooo! Aoooo! Aoooooo!

It was all the jackals, singing to the moon together.

Chandarava's ears stood up. His nose twitched. Something deep inside him wanted to sing too. He tried to keep his mouth shut. He pressed his lips together. He wiggled. He squirmed. But he just could not stop himself.

He threw back his blue head and howled, "Aoooooo! Aoooooo!"

The lion turned and stared. The tiger turned and stared.

"That is not the voice of a king sent by the Goddess," growled the lion. "That is the howl of a jackal!"

"He tricked us!" roared the tiger. "He is only a jackal painted blue!"

All the animals woke up and gathered around, and they were very cross indeed. Chandarava's heart went thump, thump, thump. He jumped up and ran, ran, ran, out of the cave, through the trees, all the way to the far side of the forest, until the angry roars were far behind him.

He sat down under a tree, all alone and tired. Then it began to rain. The rain fell and fell, and slowly the blue colour washed away, until he was a plain grey jackal once again.

Chandarava looked at his grey fur and felt sorry. He walked slowly back to his old home. There, under the moonlight, sat the jackals, with the old jackal with white whiskers in front.

"I was proud and silly," he said softly. "I pretended to be something I am not, and I sent away the ones who loved me. I am sorry."

The old jackal smiled and made a little space beside her. "Come and sit, child," she said. "You are one of us. You always were."

And so, the next time the moon was full, Chandarava sang the jackal song with his family, loud and happy, and he never tried to be anyone but himself again.

Now you try it too. Can you sing it softly with me, like a sleepy little jackal? Aoooo. Goodnight.