the pet mongoose
- a woman in a village had a baby
- she also had a pet mongoose
- she went out to fetch a pail of water
- from a river nearby
- she left the mongoose with the baby
- when she returned, she saw the mongoose covered with blood
- she assumed that the mongoose had eaten her baby
- and she killed it
- then she rushed in and found the baby to be fine
- and found a dead snake next to her baby
- she was filled with regret for having killed a great companion