Once some merchants sailed from Bārāṇasī to Bāveru (Babylon) with a crow on board to help them in finding land. There were then no birds in Bāveru, and the people, marvelling at the sight, bought the bird, after much bargaining, for one hundred pieces and paid it great honour.

On another voyage, the same merchants brought with them a peacock (the Bodhisatta), and this bird, after much show of reluctance on the part of the merchants, was sold to the people of Bāveru for one thousand pieces. From the time of the arrival of the more beautiful peacock, the crow was entirely neglected and flew away on to a refuse heap.

The story was told in reference to the fact that from the time the Buddha appeared in the world, the heretics lost all their glory. J.iii.126 ff; cp. Ud.vi.10.