The Fiend Who Washed His Feet

A fiend seized a Brahman in the forest, climbed onto his shoulders, and ordered him to walk on. As they went, the frightened Brahman noticed something strange: the fiend's feet were unusually soft, as though he took great care of them.

When asked why, the fiend explained that he was bound by a personal vow never to let his feet touch the ground unwashed. Soon they came to a lake, and the fiend told the Brahman to wait exactly where he stood while he went to bathe and complete his worship.

The Brahman understood at once what awaited him once the fiend returned satisfied from his ritual, and he also understood something else: bound by his own vow, the fiend would not dare set his unwashed feet on the ground to chase him.

So the moment the fiend entered the water, the Brahman ran for his life — and true to his word, the fiend, unwilling to break his own vow even to save his meal, did not follow.

The very discipline the fiend had imposed on himself to stay pure became the one weakness that set his intended victim free — a reminder that even a captor's own rules can become an opening, for anyone paying close enough attention to notice.