Poison Dice
[Deception]
Once upon a time there was a rich man living
in Benares who was addicted to gambling. He played dice with another gambling
addict, a man whose mind worked in tricky ways.
While the rich gambler was very honest and above board, the tricky one
was dishonest. When he kept on winning he kept on playing. But when he
began to lose he secretly put one of the dice in his mouth and swallowed
it. Then he claimed it was lost and stopped the game.
The rich gambler began to notice this trick. Then one day he decided to
teach him a lesson. He smeared poison on the dice and let it dry so it
was invisible. He took these dice to the usual place and said, "Let's
play dice!"
His friend agreed. They set up the gambling board and began to play. As
usual the tricky one began by winning every throw of the dice. But as soon
as he began to lose he sneaked the dice into his mouth.
Seeing this the rich gambler said, "Swallow now, and then something
you don't expect will happen. Your own dishonesty will make you suffer
much."
After swallowing the poison dice the trickster fell down sick and fainted.
The rich gambler, who was basically good at heart, thought, "Enough
is enough. Now I must save his life."
He made a medical mixture to cause vomiting. He made him swallow it, and
he threw up the poison dice. He gave him a drink made with clear butter,
thick palm syrup,honey and cane sugar. This made the trickster feel just
fine again.
Afterwards he advised him not to deceive a trusting friend again. Eventually
both gamblers died and were reborn as they deserved.
The moral is: Deceiving a friend may be hazardous to your health.
