The Bird with Golden Dung
Panchatantra
On a mountain tree lived an unusual bird. Whenever its droppings touched the earth, they changed into small golden pebbles.
An elderly hunter saw this wonder and set a net. The bird, careless about the new danger, landed on its usual branch and was caught.
The hunter soon worried that people might accuse him of hiding royal treasure, so he carried the bird to the king. The king was delighted and ordered the bird to be treated gently.
A counsellor laughed. “Gold from a bird? That is impossible. This hunter has fooled you.” Without testing the claim, the king opened the cage.
The bird flew to the palace arch. Before leaving, it dropped one final golden pebble into the courtyard. The hunter, king, and counsellor stared in astonishment.
The bird called, “I ignored the net, the hunter surrendered a wonder, the king skipped a simple test, and the counsellor rejected evidence he had not examined. We were all foolish in turn!” Then it flew home, leaving them wiser about both belief and doubt.
“Test surprising evidence carefully; careless disbelief can lose a real opportunity.”