A Cambodian Tale

Once in a small Cambodia village, a little girl sat eating. She didn't watch what she was doing and was careless that day, so a grain of rice dropped on the floor. Quickly, very quickly, a small lizard raced over and with a gulp, he ate the grain. A cat saw the lizard and ran after him. Next, a dog in the street ran after the cat.

The cat's owner threw a stick at the dog, who barked in pain. His master heard and yelled at the cat's owner, whose family came at once. Soon the whole family that owned the dog gathered as well. Neighbors next joined in, on both sides.

Large numbers of people screamed angrily at each other. The noise grew and grew as great shouts reached beyond the village. A man riding by listened, then rode quickly to the palace.

"My King," he said. "The enemy is attacking us. I heard fearful sounds of battle just now."

The Khmer King ordered his army to prepare for war. The next morning, 10,000 soldiers and 300 elephants marched proudly off to defend their land. The King of Siam soon heard of the Khmer army's approach.

"We're ready for battle," he said as, with thousands of soldiers and hundreds of elephants, he went to fight. Soon, the two huge armies faced each other. The sounds of fighting flutes flew through the air as elephants charged. The war drums shrieked and soldiers raced forward. The fighting began.

Nobody won. Everybody lost. The green plains were red when the armies left at last. Many people cried, for too many had died.

Back in that small village some time later, the careless girl sat down again to eat. And she never ever knew what her actions had caused.