The Jackal And The Drum - Panchatantra Story For Children With Moral (2024)

The Jackal and the Drum is a story from the Panchatantra series, which aims to teach children moral values and a way of life. The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of animal fables written in Sanskrit. The fables are interwoven and depict anthropomorphized animals with the vices and virtues of humans. It is one of India’s most translated literary products and has been translated into over 50 languages worldwide. The author of the text is unknown, but it is widely credited to Vishnu Sharma and Vasubhaga. The Jackal and the Drum story has many versions, but this version closely resembles the Panchatantra version. The short story is a perfect example of what we can achieve if we conquer our fears and what lies beyond our fears. The Jackal overcomes his fears and is rewarded at the end of the short story. Read ahead to know the full Jackal and the Drum story in English!

Origin And History Of The Jackal And The Drum

The story of the Jackal and the Drum comes from the short story series of Panchatantra. The work that survives today dates back to 200 BCE, but it is likely that the actual origin of the series is much older. The stories and fables are interrelated, and each story has some takeaway or moral that we can learn from. Before being written, it is possible that the stories were passed down orally for generations. The stories have been translated into many languages, and each culture has made the stories their own. Many scholars believe the tales were based on earlier oral folk traditions, which were finally written down. Regardless of the origins, the Panchatantra stories like the Jackal and the Drum teach us a lot about life and the values we must carry to lead a fulfilling and happy life.

Story Type Of The Jackal And The Drum

The Jackal and the Drum short story is a Panchatantra Tale that has been told for generations to teach children the important morals and values of life. The Panchatantra tales use animal characters to let children observe their actions and apply it to their own lives.

Story Characters

Gomaya the Jackal

The Jackal And The Drum Story For Children

Once upon a time, in a jungle, there was a Jackal named Gomaya. He was very hungry and was searching for food in the jungle. “Why can’t I find any food?” wondered Gomaya. After searching for some time, Gomaya wandered out of the jungle and onto a battlefield where the fighting armies had left behind a drum, among other things.

The drum was lying near a tree. As strong winds blew, the branches of the tree rubbed against the drum. This made a loud and strange sound. When Gomaya heard the drum’s sound, he got very frightened and thought of running away. But right when he was about to flee, he thought to himself, “If I don’t flee from here before the person making this sound sees me, I might get into trouble”.

As he was about to run away, he had second thoughts and decided not to run away. He thought to himself, “It is unwise to run away from something without knowing what is causing the fear. Instead, I must carefully find out the source of this noise and investigate”.
He mustered up his courage and carefully approached the drum. When he got near the drum, he realised that it was only the wind and the branches that were causing all the strange sounds.

He kept looking for food and water, and surely enough, he found sufficient food and water near the drum!

Story Summary

The summary of The Jackal and the Drum story with pictures:

There was once a jackal named Gomaya who lived in a forest. He was very hungry and was looking for food and water. He roamed the entire jungle but could not find any food. He soon found himself out of the jungle and onto a battlefield where the fighting armies had left behind a drum and a few other things. The drum was kept near a tree, and there was a strong wind blowing. Gomaya got scared of the noise and decided to run away. However, he had second thoughts and decided to go see what was causing the noise.

When he approached the drum, he realized that it was the sound of the tree’s branches hitting against the drum that was causing the strange sound. The Jackal was relieved and soon found plenty of food and water near the drum.

Moral Of The Story

The moral of the story is ‘Only the brave succeed in life’ as we see in the story. Gomaya got over his fear of the peculiar sound emitting from the drums and was rewarded with what he wanted the most, food!

Gomaya got over his fear of the sound of the drums and gathered up his courage to approach the drum. He didn’t know what dangers lay ahead, yet he chose to gather his courage and investigate what the noise was.

How Can Children Apply The Moral Of The Story In Their Real Life?

We must teach our children to get over their fears and muster up their courage when they are in any tough situation. As we go through life, we face many ups and downs and often have to make tough decisions. Our lives are defined by the choices and mistakes we make. However, these choices only turn out to be right or wrong once we have taken these decisions. Life is about chances, and it often takes courage and determination to take chances. This is where our values and teachings play an important role. If children are taught to be cautious and not take chances, they may never succeed. However, if they are taught to take chances and take responsibility for the outcomes of the same, there are higher chances of them succeeding and achieving what they dream of. Hence, we must teach children to have courage and bravery and to leap towards opportunities and conquer their dreams!

Also Read:

The Blue Jackal Moral Story for Children
Panchatantra Story Of The Musical Donkey for Kids with Moral
The Loyal Mongoose A Panchatantra Story for Children