Mahāvessantarajātaka

Suttapiṭaka · Khuddakanikāya · Jātaka (2) · Vol. 28 · Section 1247

[1247] "We do have a livelihood, sire (deva), though it is such as it is: hard is the living we make — life is sustained by gleaning (uñchācariyā). As a charioteer, O great king, tames a horse till its spirit is gone, so we, bereft of our fortune, have been tamed: misfortune tames us. Lean, too, has our flesh become through not seeing father and mother, banished as we are, O great king, living in sorrow in the forest."

English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.