Laughing
mentally, he even got upon his enemy entangled helplessly in the net.
Intent on eating the flesh, he did not mark his own danger, for as he
suddenly cast his eyes he saw a terrible foe of his arrived at that spot.
That foe was none else than a restless mongoose of coppery eyes, of the
name of Harita. Living in underground holes, its body resembled the
flower of a reed. Allured to that spot by the scent of the mouse, the
animal came there with great speed for devouring his prey. And he stood
on his haunches, with head upraised, licking the corners of his mouth
with his tongue. The mouse beheld at the same time another foe living in
the trees, then sitting on the branch of the banian. It was a
night-prowling owl of the name of Chandraka of sharp beaks. Having become
an object of sight with both the mongoose and the owl, the mouse, in
great alarm, began to think in this strain: 'At such a season of great
danger, when death itself is staring me in the face, when there is fear
on every side, how should one act that wishes for one's good? Encompassed
on all sides by danger, seeing fear in every direction, the mouse, filled
with alarm for his safety, made a high resolution. Warding off even
innumerable dangers by hundreds of means, one should always save one's
life. Danger, at the present moment, encompasses me on every side. If I
were to descend from this trap on the ground, without adequate
precautions, the mongoose will surely seize and devour me.
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