Here’s a question for you: have you ever pretended to be a little more confident than you actually felt? Stretched the truth, just a tiny bit, to fit in or impress someone?
Most of us have, at some point. This next story, also from the Panchatantra is about exactly that. It’s funny, and a little bit sad, and it tells you everything you need to know about where pretending eventually leads.
Let me tell you about the Blue Jackal.
A Hungry Jackal and an Unlucky Tumble
On the edge of a great city, there lived a jackal. He was always hungry, always a little scrappy, and always looking for his next meal.
One evening, hunger got the better of him, and he wandered into the city which, if you are a jackal, is a very risky thing to do. The city dogs spotted him immediately, and a whole pack of them came tearing after him, barking and snapping.
The jackal ran. He ran through narrow lanes, around corners, anywhere he could until suddenly, with a splash, he fell straight into a huge vat of bright blue dye belonging to a cloth merchant.
He scrambled out, soaking wet, gasping for breath and then he caught sight of his own reflection in a puddle.
He was blue. Completely, brilliantly, head-to-tail blue.
An Idea Is Born
The jackal trotted back to the forest looking like nothing anyone had ever seen before. The other animals took one look at him and scattered in fright — deer, foxes, monkeys, even the bears.
And right there, the jackal saw his chance.
“Do not be afraid,” he announced grandly. “I have been sent down from the heavens by Brahma himself. My name is Kakudruma — the Divine Beast. I have come… to be your king.”
The animals, completely in awe, bowed down before him. And just like that with a little dye and a lot of confidence the jackal became king of the forest.
Ruling as the Blue King
For a while, things actually went rather well. The jackal — now “King Kakudruma” — held court, made decisions, and made sure everyone got their fair share of food. The lion became his minister. The tiger stood guard. Even the elephant served him.
But there was one thing the jackal lived in constant fear of: other jackals. If even one of them got close enough to recognise him, the whole story would fall apart. So, quietly, and carefully, he banished every other jackal from his kingdom, sending them far away.
And for a long time, his secret was safe.
Until one full-moon night.
The Howl He Couldn’t Hold Back
Somewhere in the distance, a pack of jackals was passing through the forest. And as jackals do under a full moon, they began to howl — that long, rising and falling, unmistakable sound.
Something stirred inside the blue king. Something old, something instinctive, something he had absolutely no control over.
Before he could stop himself, he threw his head back.
And he howled too.
Not a royal announcement. Not a message from the heavens. Just… a jackal’s howl. Plain, familiar, and completely unmistakable.
Every animal froze. Then the lion stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowing.
“…That,” he said, “is a jackal.”
And just like that, the spell broke. The animals looked at their “king” — really looked and saw him for exactly what he was. A jackal. Covered in blue dye. Nothing more.
They were not amused. And the jackal’s brief reign came to a swift and undignified end.
I think this is one of those stories that makes you laugh and then, a moment later, makes you go “oh.”
- You can change how you look, but it’s much harder to change what you actually are underneath.
- Pretending to be something you’re not is exhausting — there’s always a part of you on guard.
- A false front, however convincing, usually has one small crack — and one unguarded moment is all it takes.
- Real respect comes from being yourself, not from the costume you happen to be wearing.
Here’s the thing though — the jackal isn’t really a villain. He was hungry, he stumbled into an opportunity, and he ran with it. Haven’t we all, in some small way, let people believe something about us that wasn’t quite true, just because it was easier in the moment?
The story isn’t cruel about that. It’s just honest. It shows us what it costs as the jackal could never fully relax, never be fully himself, not even for a second. And in the end, the one thing he couldn’t fake or hide his own voice was the thing that gave him away.
A Little About the Panchatantra
This story is one of hundreds in the Panchatantra, a very old Indian collection of fables that has travelled the world, translated into more than fifty languages over the centuries. Stories like this one were never just entertainment. They were gentle lessons, dressed up as good stories, meant to make you laugh first and think later.
And honestly — isn’t that still the best way to learn anything?
Read More Such Panchatantra Stories
The Lion and the Hare — how a tiny hare outsmarts the mightiest beast in the forest
The Tortoise and the Two Geese — the cost of talking at exactly the wrong moment
The Monkey and the Crocodile — a story about friendship, trust, and thinking fast
If this story made you smile (or wince a little), share it with someone who could use a gentle reminder to just be themselves — and explore more tales from the Panchatantra.
