A jackal lived in a forest. One day, while searching for food, he wandered into a village and dogs chased him. To save himself he jumped into a washerman’s vat of indigo dye.
When he came out, his whole body had turned blue. The forest animals had never seen such a colour and were frightened at the sight.
The jackal saw his chance and said, “I am the king of the forest, sent by Brahma.” The innocent animals believed him and began to serve him. He started giving orders to lions, tigers and elephants.
After some time he began to miss his fellow jackals. One moonlit night several jackals began howling loudly. Unable to resist his nature, the blue jackal started howling too.
All the animals realised that he was only an ordinary jackal who had been cheating them with dye. They drove him out of the forest.