The Mythology & Folklore Database
So he took a rope, and let it down into the pit; and the monkey, owing to his dexterity and nimbleness, was the first to cling to it, and climb up; he then let it down a second time, and the serpent twisted himself round it, and came out; then a third time, and the tiger took hold of it, and he drew him up.
Then the three beasts thanked him for his having assisted them to escape, but begged him not to release the goldsmith, adding, that men in general, and especially the person in question, were incapable of gratitude.
And the monkey said to him, "I live on a mountain near a city called Nawadarkht."
The tiger said, "I live in a wood close by this city."
And the serpent, "I dwell in the walls of the city, and if you pass in our neighborhood at any time, and have occasion for our services, call to us, and we will come and reward you for the kindness which you have shown us."
But the traveler paid no attention to what they had told him of the ingratitude of the man, but let down the rope again, and brought out the goldsmith, who thanked him for what he had done, and said, "If ever you come to Nawadarkht, enquire for my house; I am a goldsmith, and shall be happy to be of any use to you I can for the service you have rendered me."
Then the goldsmith returned to the city, and the traveler continued his journey.
Some time after the traveler had occasion to go to Nawadarkht, and as he was walking along, the monkey met him, and saluted him, and kissed his feet, and made apologies for the inability of monkeys to do much for a friend, but begged him to sit down, and wait till he returned; then the monkey went away, and very soon came back, bringing some choice fruit, which he placed before the traveler, who having eaten as much as he chose, continued his journey.
And as he approached the gate of the city, the tiger advanced towards him, and placing himself in an humble posture before him, said, "Wait a moment, and I will very soon come back to you."
Then the tiger went away, and entered the city by one of the walls, and killed the king's daughter, and tore off her trinkets, and brought them to the traveler, without informing him by what means he had procured them.
Then the traveler said to himself, "These beasts have rewarded me very handsomely, and I am now curious to see what the goldsmith will do. If he is poor, and has no means of showing his gratitude, he may at least sell these trinkets for their full value, with which of course he is acquainted, and divide with me the sum of money which he obtains for them."
So he went to the goldsmith, who, as soon as he saw him, saluted him, and made him enter his house; and observing the trinkets, he immediately recognized them to be those which he had made for the daughter of the king. He then told the traveler that he had no provisions in the house good enough for him, but if he would wait a little while, he would fetch him something to eat.
Then he went out, and said to himself, "This is an opportunity not to be lost; I will go to the king, and inform him of the discovery I have made, and he will no doubt acknowledge and reward my zeal."
Then he went to the antechamber of the king, and announced himself by a message to the following purport: "The person who has killed your majesty's daughter and stolen her trinkets is at this moment in my house."
Then the king desired the traveler, to be brought before him, and as soon as he saw the jewels in his possession, he immediately ordered him to be put to the torture, and after that to be led through the city, and in the end put to death.
Whilst the punishment was being executed, the traveler began to weep, and cry out with a loud voice, "If I had attended to the hints which the monkey, the serpent, and the tiger gave me of the ingratitude of this man, I should have escaped this misfortune."
And as he repeated the same words several times, the serpent heard what he said, and came out from her hole, and knew her benefactor again, and was so distressed at the situation in which she found him, that she immediately thought of some contrivance to release him, and went and stung the son of the king; and the king called together the wise men of his kingdom, who endeavored to charm the bite by their incantations and magical arts, but all to no purpose.
Now the serpent had a sister, who was one of the Genii; so she went to her, and informed her of the kindness she had experienced from the traveler, and of the misfortune into which he was fallen; and the sister felt pity for him, and went to the king's son, and rendering herself invisible told him that he would not get well, unless the man who had been punished so undeservedly pronounced an incantation over him.
Then the serpent went to the traveler in prison, and reproached him for not having attended to her advice concerning the goldsmith; and she gave him leaves, which she told him served as an antidote to her poison, and desired him, when he was called to charm the bite which the king's son had received, to make the young prince drink a decoction of the leaves, which would cure him; and if the king enquired into his circumstances, he must give a true account of himself, and by the favor of heaven he would by these means escape.
Then the king's son told his father, that he had heard the voice of someone speaking, who said to him, that he would not get well, unless the man who had been unjustly imprisoned charmed the sting of the serpent; upon which the king ordered the traveler to be sent for, and desired him to charm his son.
The traveler replied, "Incantations will be of no use to him, but if he drinks a decoction of these leaves, he will with the assistance of heaven be cured."
Then he made him drink, and the child got well, to the great joy and satisfaction of his father; and the king desired the traveler to give some account of himself, and the latter related his history.
Then the king thanked him, and made him a handsome present, and commanded that the goldsmith should be put to death in his stead; and the sentence was carried into execution, as a just punishment for the false evidence which he had given, and the bad return he had made to a good action.
So in the ingratitude of the goldsmith towards the traveler, and the gratitude on the other hand of the beasts towards their benefactor, by the means of one of whom he escaped from the danger which threatened him, is contained a salutary lesson for those who will listen to instruction, and matter of reflection for the considerate man, who will learn from this example to select, from motives of prudence as well as interest, those only as objects of his generosity and favor, who are possessed of integrity and honorable sentiments, in whatever rank or condition of life he may find them.