The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of animal fables and stories that is considered one of the most widely translated works from India. It uses frame stories and verses to convey ethical teachings and principles through entertaining tales. One such tale is the "Tale of Three Fish" which tells the story of three fish - one who foresees danger, one who endorses leaving when threatened, and one who believes fate cannot be escaped - to demonstrate the virtues of preparedness. Another story is about a foolish monkey attendant who accidentally kills the king it is fanning by striking at a fly with a sword instead of the fan.

1. The Panchatantra ('Five Principles') is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse
and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was
composed in the 3rd century BCE,[1] is attributed to Vishnu Sharma. It is based on older oral traditions,
including "animal fables that are as old as we are able to imagine", including the Buddhist Jataka
Tales.[2][3] It is "certainly the most frequently translated literary product of India",[4] and these stories
are among the most widely known in the world
Tale of Three Fish
Three fish lived in a pond. Their names were Anagatavidhata, Pratyutpannamati and Yadbhavishya. Some
fishermen passing by the pond wondered, “Hey, we have never seen this pond. It seems to be full of fish.
It is now evening. Let us come at dawn tomorrow and bag as many fish as we can.”
Hearing the fisherman, Anagatavidhata (the one who foresees a danger in time) called a meeting of all the
fish and told them, “Haven't you heard what the fishermen were saying? We must move out of this pond
tonight itself. As the wise men have said weak men should flee when a strong man invades or seek refuge
in a fort. There is no alternative.”
“The fisherman will come tomorrow. I think we should not be here for even a moment more,” said
Anagatavidhata.
“That's true. I endorse your suggestion,” said Pratyutpannamati. “Let's go elsewhere. Those who are
afraid of foreign lands and those who are bound to their soil will die in their own country. He who can
prosper anywhere does not die in his own land clinging to sentiment.”
Loudly laughing, Yadbhavishya said, “Your plans are not good. Why should we leave this pond, ancient
home of our forefathers, because the fishermen have evil intentions. If it is destined, we cannot escape
death even if we go elsewhere. Everything is in the hands of God. You cannot dispose what he proposes.
Without his blessings people will die even if they have protection. With his blessings nobody can kill
them even if they do not have protection.
Unable to convince him, the other two fish left the pond. Coming the next day, the fishermen took a big
catch of fish in the pond. Yadbhavishya was one among them.
THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOOLISH MONKEY
A certain king had a pet monkey.
He was allowed to enter the king's palace, even when other confidential servants were forbidden to.
One day the king was fast asleep and the monkey was fanning him.
Suddenly, a fly came and sat on the king's chest.
The monkey drove her away with the fan, but the fly kept coming back to the same place.
The foolish monkey got excited, picked up a sword and hit at the fly with it.
The fly flew away but the king was severely wounded in the chest and died as a result.
The wise indeed say: Beware of a foolish friend. He can cause you more harm than your enemy.