Parable 10: The Food of Death

The Buddha was born as an ox. His name was Big Red, and he had a brother named Little Red.
They lived on a farm together with other animals, including a pig.
The oxen worked hard, but the pig didn't work; the pig just ate.
And ate.
And ate.
Little Red was jealous, but Big Red told him, "That pig is eating the food of death; they are fattening him up for a wedding."
Red was right: when the wedding day came, that was the end of the pig, and Little Red recognized the wisdom of the Buddha's words.

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This is another of the Buddha's past-live stories known as jatakas. He tells this story to admonish a monk who is "passion-test" by love for a woman. In his past life, the monk was a pig, while Buddha was the ox named Big Red. Alas, speaking for myself, food is the bigger test for me, so it is the story of the pig that hits home rather than the story of the monk. Muṇika is the name of the pig, hence the name of this Jataka: Munika Jataka. 

illustration by Ellsworth Young