WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REPTILES
~Summary~
-by ZAI WHITAKER
In this moral story, the narrator Prem, by narrating his own experience with a story he had told by an old man, shows us the
importance of 'Unity'.
Unity in diversity
The story reflects the importance of religious harmony, as, the author points out the fact of how everyone shares an equal role in
the society irrespective of their colour, creed, race, religion, ranking, etc., and it would result in a huge disaster if this system is
disturbed.
Religious Harmony
Here, by inserting a story (story of Pambupatti) inside a story, the author tries to raise his voice against dictatorship, which is a
lesson to the human beings themselves. It also reflects the advantages of unity and disadvantages of disunity. Though people
belongto different categories, they all share the same position and deserve equal respect, importance, freedom, etc.
The narrator in this story, by portraying the character Makara, brings out how people suffer due to ineffective leadership and
bad decisions. In this story, Makara being powerful, held the position of a leader and ruled the whole forest dominantly.
Makara, the arrogant leader
It ruled so arrogantly in a way that it did not allow the fellow speakers to talk against its decision when expelling the other
animals from the forest. It spotted out drawbacks in the other animals' behaviour and chased them one by one which includes
tortoises, snakes, and lizards. These decisions taken by Makara had created trouble for itself and others as well, and so lost its
power. Only when the animals had taken a group decision, the situation came back to normal at last. The story emphasizes
the importance of being united.
~Conclusion~
Happiness and peace returned to the jungle as all the reptiles came back to their homes. Through this story, Prem understands
that it is important for all people to coexist peacefully. He resolves to head back with the hope of retelling the story of the
reptiles to the people of his village.