..續本文上一頁and ate them. Many began to avoid the king”s highway out of fear of the man-eater.

　　The king summoned Fear Maker and asked, "Can you capture this rampaging tiger, young man

　　" "Your majesty," he answered, "I am known as your best archer. Why wouldn”t I be able to capture a tiger

　　" Hearing this, the king gave him an extra sum of money and sent him out to catch the tiger.

　　Fear Maker went home and told all this to his partner. "All right," said Little Archer, "be on your way!" "Aren”t you coming too

　　" asked the surprised Fear Maker. "No, I won”t go," he replied, "but I will give you a perfect plan. You must do exactly as I say." "I will, my little friend. Please tell me," said the big front man.

　　The clever little dwarf said to his friend, "Go to the district of the tiger, but don”t rush straight to his home by yourself. Instead, gather together a thousand local villagers and give them all bows and arrows. Take them directly to the tiger”s home. But then you must let them go on ahead while you hide in the underbrush.

　　”The local villagers will be very afraid of the tiger. When they see him they will surround him and beat him. Being so terrified, they won”t stop beating him until he”s dead!

　　"Meanwhile you must cut a piece of vine with your teeth. Then come out of hiding and approach the dead tiger, holding the vine in your hand. When you see the tiger”s body, shout at the people, ”Hey! Who has killed the tiger

　　 I was going to capture him with this vine and lead him like a bull to the king. That”s why I”ve been searching in the jungle. Now tell me who has killed the tiger before I could get here with my vine.”

　　"The villagers will be easily frightened by this. They will say, ”Lord Fear Maker, please don”t tell the king! Then they will give you a big bribe to be quiet. Thinking you have killed the dangerous tiger, King Brahmadatta will also reward you greatly." This was the tricky plan of the clever Little Archer.

　　Fear Maker did exactly as he had been instructed. The man-eating tiger was killed, and fear was removed from that part of the king”s highway. Followed by a big crowd he returned to the king and said, "Your majesty, I have killed the tiger and made the jungle safe for people again." The king was pleased and gave him a huge reward.

　　Before long there were similar complaints about a buffalo who threatened another royal road. Again the king sent Fear Maker. Following Little Archer”s strategy he did exactly as before. He took credit for killing the buffalo and was greatly rewarded again by the grateful king.

　　By this time Fear Maker had become a very rich and powerful nobleman. All the wealth and praise, which he didn”t really deserve, soon went to his head. He became intoxicated with his own conceit. and began thinking he was a ”big man” in his own right. He even looked down on Little Archer and ignored his advice. He said to him, "You think this is all because of you. But I don”t need you. I can do all this without you!" He had come to believe the appearance created by Little Archer”s plan.

　　Then it happened that an enemy king attacked. He surrounded the city of Benares with his army. He sent a message to King Brahmadatta that he must either surrender his kingdom or wage war. The King of Benares ordered his greatest hero, Fear Maker, to go out and fight the enemy.

　　Fear Maker was dressed in full military armour. He mounted the mightiest armoured war elephant. Little Archer knew that the ungrateful conceited braggart, called Fear Maker. was really scared to death underneath. So he too mounted the elephant and sat behind Fear Maker. The mighty elephant walked through the city gates towards the battlefield, followed by a big crowd.

　　When Fear Maker heard the huge noise made by the war drums, he began trembling with fear. To keep him from falling off the elephant and being killed, Little Archer tied a rope around him and held him with it.

　　When Fear Maker saw the field of battle he was overwhelmed by the terrible fear of death. So much so, that he couldn”t help but release his bowels and urinate at the same time - all over the back of the poor brave war elephant!

　　The Enlightenment Being said, "Before you bragged and spoke roughly like a big man. But now, the only big thing you do is make a filthy mess all over this elephant”s back! Your present actions prove your past appearance was false."

　　Fear Maker had embarrassed himself. Little Archer had humbled him by speaking the truth. But he couldn”t help feeling sympathy for him. He said, "Don”t be afraid anymore, my friend. With me to protect you, your life is safe. Climb down from the elephant and go home and take a bath."

　　Alone atop the great elephant, the Enlightenment Being thought, "Now is the time to show what is in the heart of this hunchbacked little dwarf!" Shouting mightily as he rode he charged into the field of battle. Without killing any men or animals, he crashed through the enemy”s defences. He broke into the king”s camp, captured him, and took him back as prisoner to the King of Benares.

　　King Brahmadatta was delighted with Little Archer”s great victory. He rewarded him with wealth and fame. He became known throughout all India as ”Little Archer the Wise”. He sent his friend Fear Maker back to his home village and supported him with monthly payments.

　　Little Archer the Wise practiced generosity and other meritorious deeds. When he died he was reborn as he deserved.

　　The moral is: "Appearances can be deceiving."

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