Notes. There are many versions of this story in addition to this version from the Katha Sarit Sagara. There is a Shibi Jataka in the Buddhist tradition, version, and you will also find the story in the Mahabharata (the illustration below is from a modern edition of the Mahabharata). In other versions of the story, it is the god Agni (Fire) rather than Dharma (Truth) who accompanies Indra. You can read more at Wikipedia in the article about King Shibi.
Summary: King Shibi was famed for his justice and compassion, so the gods Indra and Dharma decide to put him to the test.
Read the story below:
KING SHIBI
So in former times there was a king named Shibi, self-denying, compassionate, generous, resolute, the protector of all creatures; and in order to beguile him Indra assumed the shape of a hawk, and swiftly pursued Dharma, who by magic had transformed himself into a dove. The dove in terror went and took refuge in the bosom of Shibi.
Then the hawk addressed the king with a human voice: "O king, this is my natural food, surrender the dove to me, for I am hungry. Know that my death will immediately follow if you refuse my prayer; in that case where will be your righteousness?"
Then Shibi said to the god, "This creature has fled to me for protection, and I cannot abandon it, therefore I will give you an equal weight of some other kind of flesh."
The hawk said, "If this be so, then give me your own flesh."
The king, delighted, consented to do so. But as fast as he cut off his flesh and threw it on the scale, the dove seemed to weigh more and more in the balance.
Then the king threw his whole body onto the scale, and thereupon a celestial voice was heard, "Well done! this is equal in weight to the dove."
Then Indra and Dharma abandoned the form of hawk and dove, and being highly pleased restored the body of king Shibi whole as before, and, after bestowing on him many other blessings, they both disappeared.
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