Reading Notes: Inayat's Twenty Jataka Tales Part A

• The Guilty Dogs
• One day, a king drove through the city in his chariot drawn by 6 white horses. When he returned at nightfall, the horses were taken to the stable but the chariot and harnesses were left in the courtyard
• When everyone was asleep in the palace, it started to rain
• The palace dogs decided it was their time to have fun.
• They saw the leather harnesses, wet and softened by the rain, and bit and gnawed at them all night, then slipped away before dawn
• The stablemen see that the straps of the royal chariot have been eaten and destroyed, and with "trembling hearts" go to tell the King
• The King rose up in a fury and commanded every dog in the city to be killed
• The 700 dogs in the city hear the order and all cried. But their Chief dog loved and protected them, and they set out to find him
• They tell him of the danger
• He thinks to himself that it is impossible for any city dog to enter the palace gates, so it must have been the palace dogs who destroyed the harnesses
• He decides to show the guilty dogs to the King to save the others
• The chief goes into the city alone. At every step men were standing ready to kill him, bu his eyes were so full of love that they didn't dare touch him
• He enters the hall of justice where the King sat on his throne with his courtiers all around, and all remained silent.
• After some time the chief spoke, and asked if it was the King's command that all the dogs of the city be killed
• The King said yes. The Chief asks them what they have done, and the King tells him about the leather harnesses.
• The Chief asks which dogs have done the harm; the King responds that he does not know so he ordered them all to be killed
• The Chief clarified if all were to die, or if some dogs would be allowed to live; the king responds that the royal dogs only would be allowed to live
• The chief gently asks if the King's command is just...why should the dogs of the palace be innocent and the dogs of the city judged guilty? 
• The ones he favored are saved and the ones he doesn't know are to be killed. Where's the justice?
• The King thinks for a minute and asks who the guilty ones are; the chief responds that the royal dogs are guilty.
• The King asks for proof, and the chief tells him to bring the royal dogs to the hall and feed them kusa grass and buttermilk...at which the leather scraps "came out of their mouths"
• The King concedes that the Chief's words are true, and declares he will not forget him. He then commands that all the dogs of the city are given rich food and royal care, and they all lived happily ever after
• Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales, by Noor Inayat (link)

The Royal Dogs, Probably (Frank Kovalchek, link)