The Bird with two Heads (Panchatantra)
Once upon a time, there was a huge banyan tree beside a river where lived a rare bird. It had two heads, but only one stomach.
One day, while flying high in the sky, it saw a shiny, red object on the riverside. The bird flew down quickly and picked it up. It was a beautiful fruit. The bird had never seen such a wonderful fruit. It began eating it and realized that it was the most delicious fruit the bird had ever eaten.
The second head, on seeing this, demanded to taste a part of that fruit. It argued that since it was the twin head, the fruit should have been also shared with him. The first head silenced it by saying, “Why are you making it a big deal? We are twin heads, but don’t you know that we’ve the same stomach? Whichever head eats it, the fruit will go to the same stomach. Moreover, I’m the one who discovered this fruit. Thus, it’s my right to have it.”
The second head, on hearing this, was very hurt. It kept quiet at that time, but grew anxious because of the greedy behavior exhibited by the first head. One day the second head saw a tree laden with fruits. The bird quickly flew towards the tree. It plucked one fruit and as soon as he was about to eat it, the first head shouted, “STOP!”
The first head, barring the second head from eating the fruit, remarked, “Don’t you know this tree bears the poisonous fruits? If you eat this fruit, both of us will die instantly.”
The second head, looking at the fruit, pretended as if it was not paying attention.
The first head pleaded again to dissuade him from consuming the toxic fruit. To which, the second reacted with anger and said, “As I’ve seen and plucked this fruit, I’ve every right to eat it. Nothing would change my mind.”
The first head kept requesting but the other head did not listen to his twin head. He wanted to take revenge. He ate that poisonous fruit, causing the twin-headed bird’s death.
Moral of the Fable
Ego destroys teamwork and leads to ruin.
