I'm always been fond of reading Jataka tales. In fact, these collections of Jataka tales have been my favorite kind of reading for this semester because their plots are very interesting with lots of suspense and rich visual details. I've read a lot of Jataka tales about monkeys, which seem like the favorite Hindu animal, but I haven't come across a reading with a crab. A story written about a giant crab, I thought, would be an absolutely amazing read. So I read the amazing story of giant crab and other great tales. But the story of giant crab particularly stood out in my mind.
There used to live a massive crab in the mountains. I really liked how the author began to say about the crab: "I daresay you have often seen crabs boiled, and put on a dish for you to eat; and perhaps at the seaside you have watched them sidling away at the bottom of a pool. Sometimes a boy or girl bathing in the sea gets a nip from a crab, and then there is squeaking and squealing." It sounded very relevant to our lives as crabs are, in fact, around us whether we notice it or not.
There was the giant crab that people unheard of: "he was bigger than a dining-room table, and his claws were as big as an armchair."
There were other animals in the story too, but the giant crab was watchful of them all the time: "And whenever they came into the water to drink, the great Crab was on the watch." Sometimes they became a prey of Giant crab by his cunning tactic of drowning.
I thought, 'there's no wonder why it's called giant crab.': "This went on for a long time, and the Crab grew bigger and bigger every day, fattening on the animals that came there to drink." The crab ate a lot, so he got really big.
The elephants attempted to stop the giant crab from his greed and complete ownership of the lake and it seemed to work out well: "When the herd of elephants got to the lake, these two went in first, and kept farthest out in the water, watching for the Crab; and the others drank, and trumpeted, and washed themselves close inshore."
The elephant then escaped and got over the crab to press him.
Wow.. This scene was super intense and so vivid: "Crack, crack! went the Crab’s shell; for, big as he was, an elephant was too heavy for him to carry. Crack, crack, crack! The Elephant jumped up and down on his back, and in a very short time the Crab was crushed to mincemeat."
The elephants became the king and queen. The animals cheered for the victory.
Even the dead crab can be useful with his remain: "the King’s sons found them, and made out of them two immense drums, which they always beat when they go to war; and the very sound of these drums is enough to frighten the enemy away."
I think this story, like other Jataka tales, teaches an important life lesson that warns the greed and evil deeds that the crab did to other animals.
Bibliography:
The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse with illustrations by W. Robinson
There used to live a massive crab in the mountains. I really liked how the author began to say about the crab: "I daresay you have often seen crabs boiled, and put on a dish for you to eat; and perhaps at the seaside you have watched them sidling away at the bottom of a pool. Sometimes a boy or girl bathing in the sea gets a nip from a crab, and then there is squeaking and squealing." It sounded very relevant to our lives as crabs are, in fact, around us whether we notice it or not.
There was the giant crab that people unheard of: "he was bigger than a dining-room table, and his claws were as big as an armchair."
There were other animals in the story too, but the giant crab was watchful of them all the time: "And whenever they came into the water to drink, the great Crab was on the watch." Sometimes they became a prey of Giant crab by his cunning tactic of drowning.
I thought, 'there's no wonder why it's called giant crab.': "This went on for a long time, and the Crab grew bigger and bigger every day, fattening on the animals that came there to drink." The crab ate a lot, so he got really big.
The elephants attempted to stop the giant crab from his greed and complete ownership of the lake and it seemed to work out well: "When the herd of elephants got to the lake, these two went in first, and kept farthest out in the water, watching for the Crab; and the others drank, and trumpeted, and washed themselves close inshore."
The crab eventually grabbed the elephant with his massive claw. Mr. Elephant almost got killed, but his wife, Mrs. Elephant, asked the crab to spare his life.
The giant crab was nasty and creepy though: “Dear little Elephant! Will you give me a kiss?”
The elephant then escaped and got over the crab to press him.
Wow.. This scene was super intense and so vivid: "Crack, crack! went the Crab’s shell; for, big as he was, an elephant was too heavy for him to carry. Crack, crack, crack! The Elephant jumped up and down on his back, and in a very short time the Crab was crushed to mincemeat."
The elephants became the king and queen. The animals cheered for the victory.
Even the dead crab can be useful with his remain: "the King’s sons found them, and made out of them two immense drums, which they always beat when they go to war; and the very sound of these drums is enough to frighten the enemy away."
I think this story, like other Jataka tales, teaches an important life lesson that warns the greed and evil deeds that the crab did to other animals.
Elephant crushes the crab. Source: Giant crab crushed by Mr. Elephant
Bibliography:
The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse with illustrations by W. Robinson
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