Before him two powerful rams were locked in combat. Again and again they charged at one another, striking fiercely with their heads. Their foreheads split open, and blood flowed freely onto the ground. Yet neither yielded, for each was determined to overcome the other.

A jackal happened to pass that way. Seeing the fresh blood upon the ground, he stopped. Greed arose within him, and he thought, "This blood is good. If these two continue their fight, I shall have food without labour for a long time."

Thinking only of his gain, he crept between the two rams and began to lick the blood as it fell upon the ground.

The rams saw him and cried, "Foolish jackal, why do you stand between two who are fighting? Leave this place at once, lest you be crushed."

The jackal paid no heed to their warning. Greed had overcome his judgment. "They are wholly occupied with one another," he thought. "They will not notice me." So he remained where he was, licking the blood that continued to fall between them.

The rams fought on with undiminished fury. At last they charged once more and met with tremendous force. The jackal, standing between them, was struck by both and crushed to death.

Therefore it is said, "He who places himself between two powerful adversaries comes to destruction." And again, "Through greed for a little, a fool loses his life."

Having witnessed this, Deva Sharma continued on his journey in search of Ashadha-bhuti. Before long he came to a village, where the sound of a loud quarrel arose from within a house.

There began the story of The Weaver and the Unfaithful Wife.