The Loyal Mongoose

Once in a quiet village, a kind Brahmin lived with his wife and baby son.

One day, while returning from another village, the Brahmin saw a baby mongoose crying next to its dead mother.

“Oh, poor thing,” he said. “It won’t survive alone.”
Feeling sorry for it, he picked up the little animal and took it home.

“Gowri,” he said to his wife, “I found this baby mongoose. Let’s take care of it.”

Gowri nodded. “Alright. I’ll raise it along with our son.”

The mongoose grew up in their home, eating and playing like part of the family. It slept beside the baby in the cradle and loved him like a brother.

As time passed, the boy and the mongoose became best friends.

But as the mongoose grew bigger, Gowri began to worry.
“This is a wild animal,” she thought. “What if it hurts my child someday?”
She moved the mongoose’s bed away from the cradle and kept a close eye on it.

One afternoon, when the Brahmin was out, Gowri needed to fetch water from the river.
Her son was fast asleep in the cradle, and the mongoose lay quietly nearby.

“I’ll be quick,” she said to herself. “I hope the mongoose behaves.”

While she was gone, a big black snake crawled into the house through a hole in the wall.
The mongoose woke up and saw it slithering toward the cradle.

“My brother is in danger!” thought the mongoose. “I must protect him!”

A fierce fight broke out. The brave mongoose battled the snake and finally killed it. Blood covered his face and paws.

Just then, Gowri came back. Seeing the mongoose covered in blood, she panicked.

“Oh no! It killed my baby!” she screamed.

In a rush of fear and anger, she threw her water pot at the mongoose and killed it.

But when she ran into the house, she saw her son sleeping peacefully in the cradle.
Next to him lay the dead snake, its head bitten off.

Realizing the truth, Gowri cried, “What have I done? He saved my child’s life, and I killed him!”

Moral: Never act in anger or jump to conclusions without knowing the full truth.