The story, mentioned in the Maháummaga Játaka (J.vi.346f), of the chameleon to whom the king gave one halfpenny's worth of meat a day for having shown him deference. One fast-day there was no meat to be had, and the man who supplied it tied the money round the chameleon's neck. The next time the animal saw the king it refused to salute him, because it felt itself to be his equal on account of the wealth round its neck.