The wolf advises the lion to consult the cat, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
The painting depicts an old tiger, crouching under a tree by a stream looking plaintively at a wolf, with whom he has just shared his troubles with the mice. The wolf suggested that the cat be called to eliminate the mice. The cat has dutifully arrived and requests that he be given the position of Magistrate of the Court, to which the lion agreed. The cat instilled fear in the mice; they dispersed, and the lion was content. Wisely, however, the cat treated the mice with consideration and did not exterminate them completely, so that he would not eliminate the cause of his usefulness. Although the rocky landscape is heavily shaded in a technique that gives them a soft quality, and the leaves of the tree are each outlined in gold, the lack of any actual shadows from an identifiable light source provides a timeless appearance to the scene.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionSimilar works
The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night
The cat attacks the mice which disturb the lion, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night
The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night
The donkey, in a tiger’s skin, reveals his identity by braying aloud, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-first Night
The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night
The hunter throws away the baby parrots, who pretend to be dead, and captures the mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night