सांप और नेवला

Summary

In ancient times, snakes were not venomous, but the mongoose was extremely poisonous, carrying a pouch of poison in its mouth. The mongoose terrorized humans, killing many daily. To prevent the extinction of humanity, all the jungle animals held a council by the riverbank. Various animals spoke in favor of protecting humans, but they feared the mongoose's poison. A black snake volunteered to take the poison pouch from the mongoose, though others mocked him. The snake declared he would use cunning, not force, to succeed. He waited until the mongoose had eaten heavily, then approached him. When the mongoose attacked, the snake cried out, claiming he had come to warn of a conspiracy against him. The mongoose, intrigued, listened as the snake said all the animals were plotting to kill him. The mongoose initially boasted of his power, but the snake sowed doubt, saying the mongoose was alone while the others were united. The snake refused to reveal the plot unless the mongoose placed his poison pouch on the ground as a sign of trust. Desperate, the mongoose complied. The snake immediately snatched the pouch and revealed the truth: the animals had indeed conspired to take the poison, and he had tricked the mongoose into giving it up. The snake kept the poison for himself, and from that day, snakes became venomous while mongooses lost their poison. This is why mongooses and snakes are enemies; the mongoose still tries to reclaim the poison pouch, but the snake's venom does not affect it because the mongoose knows an antidote root.