The Hare That Ran Away: This tale was reminiscent of the Chicken Little "the sky is falling" story arc. The introduction of the Lion as a Buddha reincarnation gave him some great credibility from the get-go, and further established the symbolic superiority of the Lion in the animal kingdom. There are many morals in this story. Among them: You become what you think, Be cautious about being a blind follower, Be willing to go back and address your mistakes, and Don't be afraid to go against the crowd. Also, double-check rather than flying off the handle at the slightest hint of what you fear.
The Monkey and the Crocodile: I love how this one starts with "Once upon a time". Note to self: look up the labuja tree. There are again many morals, including a slight theme of avoiding giving away your plan in a villainous monologue and caution against believing people without knowledge of their motivations. The stanzas at the end are cute and sum up the general gist, again I will note that I love "Great is your body, verily, but how much smaller is your wit!" Also, the metaphor of saying the Crocodile felt as sad and miserable as if he had lost a thousand pieces of money, went back sorrowing to the place where he lived" is a very effective way to communicate his emotions in a more material context, vastly more relatable for a non-reptilian audience.
The Spirit that Lived in a Tree: "My own destruction does not touch me so near as the destruction of my children." Setting: "at the hour of midnight adorned in fine splendor, he entered into the magnificent chamber of the King." This reminded me a little of Old Testament tests- the tree was spared because of its willingness to sacrifice itself for its progeny. I wonder what its progeny are like, and whether they will grow to be as big and strong.
The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die: This tale is good to caution the reader against believing in the virtuousness of their actions when they haven't done all they can. The rabbit's selflessness and willingness to die for what he perceived to be a worthy cause were excellent characterization and inspiration for future generations of story-listeners. I want some more info about the squeezing of mountain juice and daubing signs onto the moon though!
The Parrot that Fed his Parents: "Thus was the Parrot both brave and prudent." The general encouragement in this story to care for the old and the young as if repaying a debt is very interesting, especially if taken in a context of general familial structure in India.
The Man who Worked to Give Alms: A beautiful moral: "through giving there cometh knowledge of all things". This also reminds me deeply of Biblical teachings- to give every possession you have in the material world that you may live on spiritually rich. I would like to include a test of some sort in a future story- they seem to keep cropping up!
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