Preston's Epic Blog

 The Wise and Foolish Merchant - Don't be foolish like the merchant. Be wise and always observe The Elephant Girly-Face - Shows the innocence of children, or even someone who doesn't know better in adulthood. The Banyan Deer - Always show mercy, even if you are the king or most powerful in your herd. The Princes and the Water-Sprite - I don't know if it's supposed to be known what good fairies are like, but the oldest prince knows. Because of this we know he's the wisest of the three. We can learn about the power of wisdom from this story. The King's White Elephant - I'm not quite sure there's a moral to this story here, other than simply working hard. The White Elephant was beautiful, and it seemed to workout for him once he became the king's. The Ox Who Never Envied the Pig - In my opinion this is giving the advice to treat your body right. Don't envy others who have everything given to them, because it doesn't always work out in a good way...

The first story in the Jataka Tales was about a cunning monkey and a stupid crocodile. The crocodile several times had tried to get the monkey in his presence in order to kill, but the monkey out smarted him both times.  The story of the the Turtle Saved His Own Life was almost along the same lines - just shorter to the point. The turtle in a way outsmarts the humans "dreading" to be thrown in the water, but little do they know the water is the turtles home. The Merchant of Seri in my opinion is about greed and ultimately the wrongdoings of deception. The first merchant had lied about the gold bowl trying to get even more from the old lady. The second merchant had told the truth and originally refused. The second merchant ends up being the one with the better life to live. The story of the talking turtle was one with the moral being sometimes it's best to just keep your mouth shut. The story of the Strong Ox teaches one to be kind to all, even in times of stress or compet...