Suvaṇṇasāmajātaka

Suttapiṭaka · Khuddakanikāya · Jātaka (2) · Vol. 28 · Section 484

[484] "Good sir, I am a hunter's son (nesādaputto); while I yet lived, my kinsmen called me 'Sāma'; but today I lie here, come to such a pass. I am pierced by a broad, poisoned arrow, even as a deer; behold, O king — I lie weltering in my own blood. Behold the arrow that has gone through me to the left side; I am spitting up blood. Stricken, I ask you: why, having shot me, do you lie hidden? The leopard is slain for its hide; the elephant is slain for its tusks; for what reason, then, did you deem me one who should be shot?"

English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.