Once upon a time there lived four friends in a village. They decided to go to another place for getting educated. The very next day they proceeded on their journey and reached a city called Kanyakubja. There they took admission in a school and studied there for twelve years. They were now scholars of very high order. One day they decided to return to their village. As they were returning home they reached a spot where the path divided into two. They became confused as to which path should they follow. All of them sat down at that very place.

As they were sitting a funeral- procession arrived. One of the friends, quickly took out a book and found a line which said - "One should follow the way which is trodden by many people." All the four friends then decided to accompany the funeral procession. When the funeral procession finally reached the creamation ground, they saw a donkey standing there. The second friend took out his book and opened it only to find a line which said - "Only that man can be considered as a friend who accompanies one in celebration, in calamities, during famine while surrounded by the enemies, in the royal court and in the creamation ground."

Considering the donkey as their friend, one of them embraced it, another washed his feet. Just then they saw a camel. The third friend opened his book and found a line which said - "The speed of religion is very fast." The camel was walking very swiftly so the friends thought it to be a religion. The fourth friend said - "Let us join our friend with the religion."

The donkey was tied with the camel. Somebody told about this to the washer, the owner of the donkey. He came running with a stick in his hand. Seeing the washer coming in hot porsuit, all the four friends ran away. They proceeded further and arrived at the river bank. There they saw a leaf floating on the water.

One of them thought that the leaf was sinking. He jumped into the river to save that leaf as he had heard the proverb that a sinking man even seeks the help from a straw. Since our friend did not know how to swim, he started drowning. He cried for help.

The third friend opened his book and found a line which said - "When there is a possibility of losing everything, then one must try to save half, because the grief of losing everything becomes unberable." The third friend beheaded his drowning friend thinking that thus he would save at least half part of his friend. Now only three of them survived. They proceeded further and reached a village. The villagers mistook them for the learned scholars and invited them to their homes. One of them was offered Vermicelli (Sevai). He thought that "Deerghasutri' (with long thread-like worms) person is doomed to die so he did not eat the Sevai fearing his own death.

The other friend was offered bread. He thought that an excessively expanded object is impermanent. He did not eat that bread fearing premature death. The last friend was offered Bada (ground pulse formed into small roung cakes and fried). He saw that the Bada was porous. He thought that things having small pores invited calamities and hence did not eat it. This way all the three foolish brahmins returned back to their homes starving.

After completing his story, Suvarnasiddhi told Chakradhar that the lack of practical knowledge was the reason for his miseries.

But Chakradhar disagreed. He said -

"This happened only because of my destiny. If the destiny is unfavourable, even a learned man faces hardships. But if the destiny is favourably, even a foolish man enjoys life richly."

Suvarnasiddhi amazed how could a foolish man enjoy his life.

Chakradhar narrated the following story -

Fish And The Frog