Jatakamâla or a Garland of Birth Stories

Thus the elephant is the sage of animals the lion is the king of beasts of prey the whale the mammoth of the sea and the"vii eagle rules the haunters of the sky. [...] But the Devas had heard this vow and the Earth began to shake with joy and flowers showered over the Great One and the wind blew the sweet-smelling flower-dust towards him and the clouds took a beautiful rosy colour and smiled on him."4 The Devas in Devaloka rejoiced and the king of the Devas Sakra made up his mind to test the hare and see whether he would sacrfice his body for the benefit [...] So the following day at noon when the sun throws out its hottest rays and when the sky is filled with so much radiant light that it cannot be looked at; when in the jungle the insects hum the loudest; when the birds hide themselves in the branches of the trees to find a cool resting place and when the strength of the traveller is exhausted with heat and fatigue then Sakra in the garb of a Bra [...] And the three friends of the hare—the otter the jackal and the monkey— disappeared from earth and were welcomed in the Devworld as the friends of the Great One who had sacrificed his body in charity for a hungry Brahman."8 IL THE STORY OF THE WONDERFUL FISH. [...] And the quail and all the birds and animals which had fled to the bush on which was the nest were not burnt Thus the small bird who through the power of Truth could not be burnt to death or swallowed up by fire saved that part of the forest in which he lived from the violent attacks of Agni the Fire-God who obedient to the voice of Truth had put out the fire at once.