The Loyal Mongoose

A farmer and his wife had a baby and a pet mongoose. One day, the wife went to fetch water, leaving the mongoose to guard the baby. A cobra slithered into the house toward the sleeping child. The brave mongoose fought fiercely and killed the deadly snake. When the wife returned, she saw the mongoose at the door with blood on its mouth. Without thinking, she assumed the worst — the mongoose had attacked her baby. In a rage, she struck the mongoose with her water pot, killing it instantly. She rushed inside and found her baby sleeping peacefully, with the dead cobra on the floor. The truth hit her like a thunderbolt. She wept bitterly, holding the loyal mongoose who had given its life to protect her child, killed by her own haste.