[396] Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus, once in the past there was a great lake in a forest region, and elephants (nāgā) dwelt in dependence upon it. Plunging into that lake, they would pull up lotus stalks and roots with their trunks, wash them until they were thoroughly rinsed, and, chewing them free of mud, swallow them. That conduced to their beauty and to their strength, and on that account they came neither to death nor to deadly suffering. But, bhikkhus, young elephants, mere calves (bhiṅkacchāpā), imitating those very great elephants, plunged into that lake, pulled up lotus stalks and roots with their trunks, but, not washing them until thoroughly rinsed, chewed them together with the mud and swallowed them. That conduced neither to their beauty nor to their strength, and on that account they came either to death or to deadly suffering. Even so, bhikkhus, will Devadatta, imitating me, die a wretched man."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.