Epics of India!: Reading Notes: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India" (Part B)

Continuing on from last week, I am writing notes on my favorite stories from Rouse's Indian fables. Here are two fables I liked:

The Quail and the Falcon

The Quail had no trouble looking for food because he just ate all the worms and seeds that came up from the farmer's plough.
One day, he decided to try to find food for himself in the forest so off he went to search for worms. Meanwhile, the Falcon was in search for food as well and immediately caught the Quail.
The Quail mourned, saying that he should've stayed home because then he would've never gotten caught by Falcon. Then, Falcon took this as a challenge, thinking that he could catch the Quail anywhere! So he let the Quail go and chased after him at the farm.
Once back home, the Quail challenged the Falcon to come get him, and when the Falcon swiftly dived down, Quail immediately and flawlessly avoided, causing Falcon to die from shock and from hitting the ground too hard.
Moral: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

I thought this was an interesting storyline, especially when the author decided to use legitimate birds as his characters to describe the moral. I could write a story and base the characters off this, but maybe keep out the death part.

Quail

The Bold Beggar

There was a king named Dainty who liked to spend 1000 pounds on his meals, and allowed anyone to watch him eat for free.
One day, there was a man who wanted to try the king's food so he came up with a plan to trick the king into giving him food.
The man cried out "News! News! News!" multiple times while running through the watchful crowd and to the king. Then, upon arriving in front of the king, the man collapse in fake hunger.
The king give the man part of his own meal and a cup of wine to refresh the man. Once the man ate and drank his share, the king asked him to tell him the news.
"The news is, your Majesty," said the man, "that an hour ago I was hungry, and now I am not!"
Surprisingly, the king laughed at the boldness of this beggar and did not punish him; however, he did warn the man and everyone else that this is the last time he'll do such a thing.

I thought this story was brilliant and the ending was far more generous and nicer than I thought it was going to be. I love how the king had a sense of humor and was kind, unlike many other stories which shows the king in a more foul light. I could basically rewrite this story but add more details to develop the character of the king and the beggar a little more.