經律異相 48.69

48.69

Formerly, there was a snake whose head and tail quarreled with each other. The head said to the tail: 'I should be the elder.' The tail said to the head: 'I should be the elder.' The head said: 'I have ears that can hear, eyes that can see, a mouth that can eat, and when moving I go in front; therefore I can be the elder. You have no such arts.' The tail said: 'It is only because I let you go that you can go. If I coil my body three times around a tree, not stopping for three days, you cannot seek food and will be on the verge of death from starvation.' The head said to the tail: 'Release it, and I will let you be the elder.' Hearing its words, the tail immediately released it. [The head] further said to the tail: 'Since you are the elder, I allow you to go ahead.' The tail moved ahead, and before going a few steps, it fell into a fire pit and died.