佛教故事:The Fawn Who Played Dead

　　The Fawn Who Played Dead

　　Once upon a time， there was a herd of forest deer.In this herd was a wise and respected teacher， cunning inthe ways of deer. He taught the tricks and strategies ofsurvival to the young fawns.

　　One day， his younger sister brought her son to him，to be taught what is so important for deer. She said， "Ohbrother teacher， this is my son. Please teach him the tricksand strategies of deer." The teacher said to the fawn，"Very well， you can come at this time tomorrow for yourfirst lesson."

　　The young deer came to the lessons as he wassupposed to. When others cut classes to spend all dayplaying， he remained and paid attention， to the goodteacher. He was well liked by the other young bucks anddoes， but he only played when his class work wascomplete. Being curious to learn， he was always on timefor the lessons. He was also patient with the otherstudents， knowing that some learn more quickly thanothers. He respected the teacher deer for his knowledge，and was grateful for his willingness to share it.

　　One day， the fawn stepped in a trap in the forest andwas captured. He cried out in great pain. This frightenedthe other fawns， who ran back to the herd and told hismother. She was terrified， and ran to her brother theteacher. Trembling with fear， crying big tears， she said tohim， "Oh my dear brother， have you heard the news thatmy son has been trapped by some hunter's snare？ Howcan I save my little child's life？ Did he study well in yourpresence？"

　　Her brother said， "My sister， don't be afraid. I haveno doubt he will be safe. He studied hard and always didhis very best. He never missed a class and always paidattention. Therefore， there is no need to have doubt orpain in your heart. He will not be hurt by any humanbeing. Don't worry. I am confident he will return to youand make you happy again. He has learned all the tricksand strategies used by deer to cheat the hunters. So bepatient. He will return！"

　　Meanwhile， the' trapped fawn was thinking， "All myfriends were afraid and ran away. There is no one to helpme get out of this deadly trap. Now I must use the tricksand strategies I learned from the wise teacher who taughtso well."

　　The deer strategy he decided to use was the onecalled， "playing dead." First， he used his hoofs to dig upthe dirt and grass， to make it look like he had tried veryhard to escape. Then he relieved his bowels and releasedhis urine， because this is what happens when a deer iscaught in a trap and dies in very great fear. Next， hecovered his body with his own saliva.

　　Lying stretched out on his side， he held his bodyrigidly and stiffened his legs out straight. He turned up hiseyes， and let his tongue hang out of the side of his mouth.He filled his lungs with air and puffed out his belly.Finally， with his head leaning on one side， he breathedthrough the nostril next to the ground， not through theupper one.

　　Lying motionless， he looked so much like a stiffcorpse that flies flew around him， attracted by the awfulsmells. Crows stood nearby waiting to eat his flesh.

　　Before long it was early morning and the huntercame to inspect his traps. Finding the fawn who wasplaying dead， he slapped the puffed up belly and found itstiff. Seeing the flies and the mess he thought， "Ah， it hasalready started to stiffen. He must have been trappedmuch earlier this morning. No doubt the tender meat isalready starting to spoil. I will skin and butcher the carcassright here， and carry the meat home."

　　Since he completely believed the deer was dead， heremoved and cleaned the trap， and began spreading leavesto make a place to do the butchering. Realizing he wasfree， the fawn suddenly sprang to his feet. He ran like alittle cloud blown by a swift wind， back to the comfort andsafety of his mother. The whole herd celebrated hissurvival， thanks to learning so well from the wise teacher.

　　The moral is： Well-learned lessons bring greatrewards.

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