Reading Notes: Jataka Anthology

Monkey (Wikipedia)

The Foolish Timid Rabbit - This one was pretty straightforward. A rabbit wakes up and wonders what would happen if the world ended, then he hears a loud noise from a coconut falling down and mass hysteria sets in. It's a good example of crowd mentality (if you see a crowd of people running away from something, you're more likely to run with them the larger the crowd is). I could probably do something similar to this with people running from a flood or hurricane. I'd have to make sure that the initial disturbance would be considered large to the first runner but insignificant to the last.

The Turtle and the King: Feigning distress when put into a situation where you're under the whim of a person trying to cause you distress can turn into a pretty comedic situation. I could make a more exaggerated story where the person captured ends up living a luxurious lifestyle with his captors thinking he's suffering.

The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart: When I read this I ended up thinking of a line: "You're in the Cash Cab! You give me cash and you get to leave." I'm thinking that I could end up having the person who called the cab tell the driver that his wallet is at the destination and they end up at a police station.

Goblin City: I could make a story based on shape-shifting monsters like the goblins, but I think I'd write it more as a horror. They'd lurk in the shadows and deceive the sailors one by one. Eventually the surviving sailors come across a crack in a mountain that they see a light from, but only those that are small enough can fit through and the rest are trapped with the monsters.

Bibliography
Ellen C. Babbitt. "Jataka Tales". (link)
Marie L. Shedlock. "Eastern Stories and Legends". (link)
W.H.D. Rouse. The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India. (link)