Panchatantra

Three Crooks

Once upon a time, a Brahmin went to perform rituals for a rich farmer. After the ceremony was over, the farmer gifted a lamb to the Brahimn. The Brahmin happily accepted the gift and returned back to his village. On his way, he was carrying the lamb on his back. When he was passing through an isolated footpath, three crooks spotted the Brahmin. The crooks wanted to snatch the lamb somehow from him.

Crooks hatch a plan

The crooks made a plan to take away the lamb from the Brahmin. While the Brahmin had walked some distance, one of the crooks appeared in his path and said, “O poor Brahmin, why are you carrying a dog on your back. You probably don’t know that if a Brahmin carries a dog, it means a deadly sin for the Brahmin.”

brahmin carrying lamb

The Brahmin got angry and asked the crook to mind his own business. After a few moments, the second crook appeared before the Brahmin and said, “O poor Brahmin, I am astonished to see a Brahmin carrying a dead calf. Brahmins are supposed to carry holy books and holy water. Give it to me so that you can be saved from the deadly sin.”

Brahmin concedes defeat

The Brahmin made the same reaction and asked the crook to mind his own business. After a few moments, the third crook appeared before the Brahmin and said, “In my whole life, I have never seen a Brahmin carrying a donkey. Have you lost all your wisdom and have started the job of a shepherd. Even shepherds do not carry animals on their back.”

This was too much for the Brahmin. He was deeply puzzled and began to think that he must be carrying some strange animal and not the goat. He threw off the lamb and continued his onward journey. Thus the three crooks succeeded in their plan.

The moral of the story is, "If a lie is repeated umpteenth times, it apparently becomes a truth."