"Very well, I will do so when I can," replied the charioteer. But he did not show the Judas Tree to all four of them at once. It was then early springtime, and he at once took the eldest son to the forest in his chariot, and showed him the Tree at a time when the buds were just sprouting from their stems. To the second son he showed the Tree when the leaves were full-grown and formed a mass of rich green; to the third he showed it at the time of blossoming, and to the fourth son when it was bearing fruit.
Some time after this had happened the four brothers chanced to be sitting together in company with others, when some one asked: "What sort of a Tree is the Judas Tree?" Then the first brother answered:
"Like a burnt stump!"
And the second cried, "Like a Banyan Tree!"
And the third cried, "Like a piece of red meat!"
And the fourth cried, "Like the Acacia!"
The four brothers were vexed at one another's answers, and ran to find their father. "My Lord," they asked him. "what sort of a Tree is the Judas Tree?"
"What sort of a Tree do you think it is?" the King asked in return. Accordingly they told him the answers that each one of them had given. Then the King said:
"It is evident from your answers that all four of you have seen the Judas Tree. Only, when the charioteer showed you the Tree you none of you asked him, 'what does this Tree look like at other seasons of the year?' You made no distinctions between seasons, and that is the source of your mistake."
(Kimsukopami Jataka, No. 248.)
