Here, then, begins Book III, called “Crows and Owls,” which treats of peace, war, and so forth. The first verse runs:

Reconciled although he be,

Never trust an enemy.

For the cave of owls was burned,

When the crows with fire returned.

“How was that?” asked the princes, and Vishnusharman told the following story.

In the southern country is a city called Earth-Base. Near it stands a great banyan tree with countless branches. And in the tree dwelt a crow-king named Cloudy with a countless retinue of crows. There he made his habitation and spent his time.

Now a rival king, a great owl named Foe-Crusher, had his fortress and his habitation in a mountain cave, and he had an unnumbered retinue of owls. This owl-king cherished a grudge, so that whenever he met a crow in his airings, he killed him and passed on. In this way his constant aggression gradually spread rings of dead crows about the banyan tree. Nor is this surprising. For the proverb says:

If you permit disease or foe

To march unheeded, you may know

That death awaits you, sure if slow.

Now one day Cloudy summoned all his counselors and said: “Gentlemen, as you are aware, our enemy is arrogant, energetic, and a judge of occasions. He always comes at nightfall to work havoc in our ranks. How, then, can we counter-attack? For we do not see at night, and in the daytime we cannot discover his fortress. Otherwise, we might go there and strike a blow. What course, then, shall we adopt? There are six possibilities — peace, war, change of base, entrenchment, alliances, and duplicity.”

And they replied: “Your Majesty does well to put this question. For the saying goes:

Good counselors should tell their king,

Unasked, a profitable thing;

If asked, they should advise.

While flatterers who shun the true

(Which in the end is wholesome, too)

Are foemen in disguise.

Therefore it is now proper to confer in secret session.”

Then Cloudy started to consult severally his five ancestral counselors, whose names were Live-Again, Live-Well, Live-Along, Live-On, and Live-Long. And first of all he questioned Live-Again: “My worthy sir, what is your opinion under the circumstances?” And Live-Again replied: “O King, one should not make war with a powerful enemy. And this one is powerful and knows when to strike. Therefore make peace with him. For the saying goes:

Bow your head before the great,

Lifting it when times beseem,

And prosperity will flow

Ever onward, like a stream.

And again:

Make your peace with powerful foes

Who are rich and good and wise.

Who are seasoned conquerors,

In whose home no discords rise.

Make your peace with wicked men,

If your life endangered be;

Life, itself first made secure,

Gives the realm security.

And again:

Make your peace with him whose wont

‘Tis to conquer in a fight;

Other foes will bend their necks

To you, fearful of his might.

Even with equals make your peace;

Victory is often given

Whimsically; take no risks—

Says the current saw in heaven.

Even with equals victory

Whimsically may alight.

Try three other methods first;

Only in extremis fight.

And yet again:

See! The bully to whose soul

Power is all, and peace is not,

Clashing with an equal foe,

Crumbles like an earthen pot.

Land and friends and gold at most

Have been won when battles cease;

If but one of these should fail,

It is best to live in peace.

When a lion digs for moles

Hiding in their pebbly house,

He is apt to break his nails,

And at best he gets a mouse.

Therefore, where no prize is won

And a healthy fight is sure,

Never stir a quarrel, but

Whatsoe’er the cost, endure.

By a stronger foe assailed,

Bend as bends the river reed:

Do not strike, as serpents do,

If you wish your luck to speed.

Imitators of the reed

Slowly win to glory’s peak;

But the luckless serpent-men

Only earn the death they seek.

Shrink like turtles in their shells

Taking blows if need there be;

Raise your head from time to time

Like the black snake, warily.

To sum it up:

Never struggle with the strong

(If you wish to know my mind)

Who has ever seen a cloud

Baffle the opposing wind?”

Having heard this v, ew, the king said to Live-Well: “My worthy sir, I desire to hear your opinion also.” And Live-Well said: “O King, I disagree. Inasmuch as the enemy is cruel, greedy, and unprincipled, you should most certainly not make peace with him. For the proverb says:

With foes unprincipled and false

‘Tis vain to seek accommodation:

Agreements bind them not; and soon

They show a wicked transformation.

Therefore you should, in my judgment, fight with him. You know the saying:

‘Tis easy to uproot a foe

Contemning fighters, never steady.

Cruel and greedy, slothful, false,

Foolish and fearful and unready.

“But more than this—we have been humiliated by him. Therefore, if you propose peace, he will be angry and will employ violence again. There is a saying:

The truculence of fevered foes

By gentle measures is abetted:

What wise physician tries a douche?

He knows that fever should be sweated.

Conciliation simply makes

A foeman’s indignation splutter,

Like drops of water sprinkled on

A briskly boiling pan of butter.

Besides, the previous speaker’s point about the strength of the enemy is not decisive.

The smaller often slays the great

By showing energy and vigor:

The lion kills the elephant,

And rules with unrestricted rigor.

And more than that:

Foes indestructible by might

Are slain through some deceptive gesture.

As Bhima strangled Kichaka,

Approaching him in woman’s venture.

And yet again:

When kings are merciless as death,

All foes are quick to knuckle under;

Quick, too, to kill the kings who fall

Into compassion’s fatal blunder.

And he whose sun of glory sets

Before the glory of another

Is born in vain; he wastes for naught

The youthful