"A foolish monkey, living in the trees,
O king, when both his hands were full of peas,
Has thrown them all away to look for one:
There is no wisdom, Sire, in such as these."

Then the Bodhisatta approached the king, and addressing him again, repeated the second stanza:

"Such are we, O mighty monarch, such all those that greedy be;
Losing much to gain a little, like the monkey and the pea."

[76] On hearing this address the king turned and went straight back to Benares. And the outlaws hearing that the king had set forth from his capital to make mincemeat of his enemies, hurried away from the borders.

_____________________________

At the time when this story was told, the outlaws ran away in just the sane fashion. The king, after listening to the Master's utterances, rose and took his leave, and went back to Savatthi.

The Master, after this discourse was at an end, identified the Birth: "In those days Ananda was the king, and the wise councillor was I myself."

[j177]