法苑珠林 51.31

51.31

"Great King, you should know that in Vārāṇasī, / there is a crow king who constantly dwells there. / Surrounded by a flock of eighty thousand crows, / they all receive that king's commands. / That crow king's wife conceived a longing; / I shall explain its cause to the great king. / The delicious and fragrant meal that the crow's wife craved / was such as the great king eats. / Therefore I have now come repeatedly, / snatching and carrying off the great king's fragrant and delicious food. / Now, on behalf of that crow king, / I have come to be bound by the great king. / O great holy king, please / have compassion and pity, and release me! / It was for the sake of the crow king and his wife / that I repeatedly came to snatch the great king's food. / I reflect that in all my life, / I have never committed such an act. / Now that the great king has rebuked me once, / hereafter I dare never do it again."