"Buddha's Moon" is a tale from India.

Once upon a time, three friends — the monkey, the fox and the hare — lived together in the forest. They were devoted to one another.

One day, Buddha began to wonder about his animals. Was the monkey truly generous? Was the fox always kind? And the hare? Was the hare as peaceful as he seemed?

Buddha decided to test the animals, so he disguised himself as a poor priest. He put on rags, and, hobbling with a cane, limped into the forest.

Before long he came upon the monkey, who was playing in the forest, swinging from branch to branch and chattering happily. When the monkey spotted the priest, he called out cheerfully, "Hello, sir. Lovely day, don't you think?"

The priest bowed his head and said sorrowfully, "Ah, it would be a lovely day indeed if I weren't so terribly hungry."

"Hungry?" the monkey asked. "I can help you there. I can offer you plenty of fruit," and he swung from tree to tree picking mangoes for the priest.

While the monkey was busily gathering fruit, the fox trotted past, and seeing the priest, he stopped to say, "Good day to you, holy man. How fine the sunshine is, don't you think?"

"The sunshine?" the priest said, looking up as if he hadn't even noticed the day. "Ah yes, it's a pity it does not offer nourishment to a starving man."

The fox's heart swelled with compassion, and he remembered he had just passed a dozen fish lying on the lake shore. Surely these would fill the priest's stomach. "I can fix that in a moment if you'll just be patient," said the fox, and he raced off to collect the fish.

When the fox was out of sight, the priest sat beneath a tree and waited for the hare, and sure enough, soon he saw the hare hopping toward him. "Sir, welcome to the forest. My friends tell me you're very hungry."

The priest smiled. "I am indeed," he said, as the monkey returned carrying an armful of mangoes.

"How very kind," the priest said. "You are truly a generous soul."

The monkey smiled. "My pleasure," he said, bowing.

Now the fox returned, with plenty of fish. "Here you are. Your stomach will soon be happy!"

"How can I ever thank you?"

"Your happiness is thanks enough," the fox said.

The hare stood by, watching helplessly. "Sir," he said, "I eat nothing but grass, and I have nothing else to give you. I don't imagine you would like some grass?"

The priest shook his head. "No, thank you," he said.

The hare then whispered to his friends, the monkey and the fox. "Come, you will help me, won't you?" The three friends turned to the priest and said, "We shall return soon."

After several minutes, the monkey, the fox and the hare returned, each carrying a load of wood. The hare built a roaring fire, and then turned to the monkey and the fox. "I am going to jump into this fire," he said, "and when I am cooked, brother monkey and brother fox, please give me to this poor man to help ease his hunger."

The monkey and the fox nodded solemnly. The hare leaped into the fire, but the priest tossed off his tattered cloak and, to the amazement of the monkey and the fox, reached into the fire and moments later was cradling the hare, alive and well, in his arms.

"Who are you?" the monkey asked.

"What kind of trick was that?" fox added.

Buddha smiled. "Clearly I am not a beggar priest, and I see you clearly as well. You are truly devoted, generous, kind and peaceful souls."

The monkey and the fox bowed to Buddha. "Thank you," they said. "That is what all creatures are supposed to be."

"True enough," Buddha said. He turned his gaze on the hare. "Your generosity is without compare, good friend, but you are wrong to sacrifice yourself, and to keep you safe from this day on, I am placing you on the moon. There everyone will see you and remember your goodness and generosity. And there you will be safe forever."

To this day, if you look up at the moon when it is full, you will see that the hare, Buddha's beloved, is there still.