A story from Mahabharata, Shanti parva (117th chapter):
Once there lived a sage in a jungle. He had raised many animals in his hermitage. Among them lived a dog that loved the sage so much that he always stayed beside the sage. Once the dog went out into the jungle to fetch some food. But, soon he came running to the sage being chased by a leopard. Out of compassion, the sage turned the dog into a leopard by his magical powers (tapas-shakti). The enemy leopard was driven away by the dog-turned-leopard.
A few days later, the leopard came running to the sage being chased by a tiger. Out of compassion, the sage turned the leopard into a mighty tiger. The tiger drove its enemy away. The dog-turned-tiger always stayed beside the sage. Other animals, scared of the tiger, left the hermitage.
One night, the sage was sleeping in his hut while the tiger laying outside. A wild tusker came running at the hut. The tiger begged the sage for help. The sage turned the tiger into a formidable elephant which chased the enemy away. The elephant lived happily in the jungle, the home of many beautiful lotus-ponds.
Once, a lion attacked the elephant. The elephant came running to the sage for help. The sage turned the elephant into a mighty lion. The dog-turned-lion scared away the other lion and thereafter lived happily as the king of the jungle.
A few days later, the lion encountered a sharabha (a mythical creature with eight legs that can hunt down lions). The lion sought the sage’s help. The sage turned the lion into a more powerful sharabha. The dog-turned-sharabha drove away the other sharabha and became the most mighty living being of the jungle.
The sharabha, intoxicated by the unchallenged might, desired to eat the sage. When the sharabha attacked the sage, he turned the sharabha into a dog. Having realized his mistake, the dog begged for mercy. But, the sage drove the dog out of his hermitage.
Moral: Power can corrupt even the most faithful mind. A king must thus possess a good judgment of his people and offer them appropriate opportunities of service.
