Reading Notes: Jataka Reading, Part B

Image information: Buffalo, Image credit: Mental Floss

In the story “The Patient Buffalo” written by Noor Inayat, the author writes about a mighty buffalo with great patience. One day, as the buffalo was laying under the shade of a tree fast asleep, a little monkey decided to make it his mission to irritate the giant creature. With that being said, he leaped off from a branch of the tree and onto the buffalo’s back. The little monkey began to dance around and round on the large creature’s body. However, to the monkey’s despair, the buffalo remained still and undisturbed by the monkey. Many days later, a fairy appeared to the buffalo and asks him why he hasn’t taken the matter into his own hands as he was a powerful creature. The buffalo explains that the monkey is small and born with a small brain. Therefore, why would the buffalo punish the monkey in order to make him happy? 

This was probably my most favorite story because the buffalo actually taught me something. With that being said, the one character that I found the most fascinating is probably the buffalo. Even though the buffalo was described to have “strength and beauty known to the whole world,” he still left the monkey alone and unharmed. He truly believed that it wasn’t fair to make others suffer in order to be happy.
Moreover, in my version of the story, I would probably recreate the buffalo’s character to a loner in high school and the monkey’s character to a bully. The loner would probably an out-of-placed female student looking to fit in; however, she finds herself backed up against a corner when she faces a bully at school. Despite her friends’ constant urge to persuade her to fight back, the loner truly believed that her patience and kindness could change the bully.