A Brave Mind Triumphs a Strong Body

Nestled at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas in ancient India, was a small village — Gangoli.

Nandu, the farmer, like most villagers, owned a bull to assist him in plowing the fields. The bull was strong and obedient but of a gentle demeanor. It had pale white skin, mesmerizing blue eyes, long curvy horns, and big boat-shaped ears.

Nandu marked the horn tip of the bull with crimson red paint as part of a religious ceremony. The priest opined that this would bring good luck and wisdom to the bull, and then whispered something into the bull’s ears.

Although Nandu took good care of the bull, it was not content with the monotonous daily work and considered escaping from the routine.

One day, after coming back from the farm, Nandu forgot to tie the bull in the shed. The bull perceived this as a chance and sneakily ran away to the meadows at the mountaintop.

The bull felt liberated at the revelation of being able to roam freely. Although happy to graze on its own, the bull also missed the company of its master.

As darkness loomed in, the bull grew anxious but continued its search for a safe shelter. It wandered through a narrow edge along the mountain cliff.

Suddenly, it came face to face with a jaguar on its path. The jaguar couldn’t help but notice the bull’s unique red-tipped horns and asked out of curiosity, “You seem to have unique horns. Are you a village bull who lost its way to this jungle?”

The bull was at first petrified and felt paralyzed at its feet. With no recourse, it eventually composed its mind and replied,

“Nah, I just came from the neighboring woods down the valley. I got indulged in a brawl with a wild boar. I ended up piercing its throat with my horns, and the tip still has traces of blood that came gushing out of its body.”

Sensing the awe in the jaguar’s eyes, the bull further added, “Further, I killed one elephant when it refused to give me the path. Now I am setting my foot in this terrain to prove my might, and vowed to kill anyone who challenges my authority.”

The jaguar became scared on hearing this account and started to retreat. A lanky jackal, who had been listening to their conversation from afar, approached the jaguar and rebuked, “It’s a disgrace that you got frightened by an ordinary bull. Come, let’s go and kill that bragging bovine.”

The jaguar replied, “Oh, fellow jackal, you are a wily creature and someone not worthy of trust.”

The jackal retorted, “It’s amusing that you believe the words of a stranger, but not of your old friend. Fair enough, if you don’t trust me, let’s tie our tails together. We may surely overpower that bull and enjoy the tasty feast for ourselves.”

The jaguar reluctantly agreed to the plan. With the help of a monkey, they intertwined their tails and thereafter headed towards the bull.

Just when the bull thought that it had a narrow escape from death, it saw the two pairs of fiery eyes flashing from the woods. The bull knew that it wouldn’t be possible to outrun them. It thought of trying its luck once again by feigning confidence and devised a plan.

The bull maintained a calm figure, smirked gently, and uttered loudly,

“Well done my dear friend Jackal. You did an excellent job today fetching that silly jaguar for me, now I can finally fulfill my wish of slaying a jaguar. Let me sharpen those horns in a bit.”

This was enough to send shivers down the jaguar’s spine, and it started fleeing to the opposite end with all its might.

“You Liar!”, the jaguar screamed at the jackal in utter disbelief.

The jackal didn’t expect this to happen and was too stunned to respond to anything. It then tried hard to run towards the bull but was dragged along by the jaguar’s sheer strength. In the struggle, both the jackal and the jaguar fell off the edge of the cliff and died in the darkness.

The bull looked down for a moment, and then to the heavens above, before heaving a sigh of relief.

It then remembered the wise words of the priest on the day of the ceremony:

The only tether that holds you is the one that you impose on yourself.