A family kept a gentle mongoose who played with their baby like a brother. One day the mother left the mongoose to watch the sleeping child while she stepped out.
A snake slithered toward the baby's cradle, and the brave little mongoose fought and killed it, saving the child. When the mother returned, she saw the mongoose's mouth red and, fearing the worst, struck it in a panic — before she saw the dead snake and the safe, sleeping baby.
She wept with sorrow at her hasty mistake. The story is told so that no one forgets its hard, gentle lesson.