Story of the Kind Hearted Deer

Once, a golden deer lived in a forest. It was very charming with beautiful eyes and a glowing skin. Whoever saw him was charmed by his beauty. He was very swift and nobody could ever catch him.

The king of a nearby kingdom heard about the deer. He was filled with a desire to possess the deer. He was an expert hunter. One day, he set out to the forest, determined to catch the golden deer. When he and his soldiers reached the forest, they camped near a stream.

Next day, they went looking for the deer. After several hours, the king saw the magnificent deer. He was charmed by its beauty. He ordered his men to catch the deer alive. “In no case should the deer be killed.” He told his soldiers.

Seeing the king and his men, the deer ran into the forest. The king followed him and got separated from his men. The deer ran very swiftly. The king also kept following him. However, he could not catch him. The deer was now tired. He hid behind a bush. The king could not see him. He was greatly disappointed. He had lost his way. He did not know where his men were. He decided to look for a way out of the thick part of the forest.

As he moved forward, he fell into a deep water hole. The deer heard the splashing sound. He became sure that the king must have fallen into the water hole. He rushed to the water hole. The king was in the water. There was nobody around who could help him out. The deer thought, “The king wants to catch me. Throughout the day, he was followed me. Now he has fallen into the water. If I do not help him, he will die. I cannot let him die.” So he decided to help him. He said to the king, “Sir, I will help you out of the water. I am bowing my head down. Please hold onto my horns and I shall pull you out.”

The king held on to his horns and the deer pulled him out. The king thanked the deer and said, “You have helped me in spite of the fact that I wanted to catch you. I am grateful to you. Will you please come and stay with me in my palace. I promise that no harm shall ever come upon you.”

At this, the deer said, “Sir, I cannot be happy in the palace. This forest is my house. Please let me live here. I helped you because it was my duty to save you. I know you have lost your way and have been separated from your men. Follow me and I will lead you to them.”

The king followed the deer and soon found his soldiers. He wanted to reward the deer for his help. He said to him, “I want to reward you. Please tell me what you want me to do for you.”

The deer replied, “Sir if you really want to reward me, please promise that you will give up hunting of animals. Also promise that you will prohibit hunting in your kingdom.” The king promised him that from then onward, he would give up hunting and prohibit hunting in his kingdom. He then left the forest and came back to his kingdom. As soon as he reached the palace, he took out an order proclaiming that hunting was prohibited in his kingdom.