# The Cruel Crane Outwitted explained — Indian Fairy Tales

> Chapter companion for Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

## What happens

A crane, the Bodhisatta, devises a plan to eat fish from a drying pond by pretending to transport them to a larger pond. He successfully eats all the fish, but when he tries to trick a crab, the crab outwits him by gripping his neck with its claws and ultimately kills him, demonstrating that deceit and cruelty lead to downfall.

## Themes in this chapter

### Cunning and Wisdom

The crane uses cunning to deceive the fish, but the crab's wisdom and cleverness ultimately triumph, illustrating that true wisdom can overcome deceit.

### Justice and Karma

The crane's cruel actions lead to its own destruction, demonstrating karmic justice where the villain is punished for his deeds.

### Greed and Its Consequences

The crane's greed for eating all the fish drives its actions, but this greed ultimately results in its death, highlighting the destructive nature of greed.

## Character check-ins

### The Crane Bodhisatta

The crane who deceives and eats the fish, but is ultimately outwitted and killed by the crab.

### Rohu

The blind fish sent to verify the crane's story, later eaten.

### Crab

The crab who outwits the crane, grips its neck, and kills it.

## Key lines

> The villain, though exceeding clever, Shall prosper not by his villainy. He may win indeed, sharp-witted in deceit, But only as the Crane here from the Crab!

Even a very clever villain will not succeed through wickedness; he may temporarily triumph through trickery, but ultimately he will be defeated, just like the crane was by the crab.

_The moral of the story, spoken by the tree spirit, emphasizing that deceit leads to downfall._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters/the-cruel-crane-outwitted
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters