A Mother’s Dilemma – What else could she have done?

I read this story somewhere and don’t remember where, but it has been etched in my memory forever. In the days of British India, a mother with her two young children went on a river trip on a small rowboat on the Ganges, where there are a lot of crocodiles. The older child kept playing with his one hand in the water as the boat was cruising the river, even as the mother was holding on to the other hand so that he would not fall into the water.

Suddenly the child cried as his hand in the water was gripped by the powerful jaws of a crocodile. The crocodile tried pulling the child into the water even as the frightened mother fought bravely by pulling his other hand, to keep him from tipping over into the river. This tug-of-war went on for what seemed like an eternity although it probably lasted just under a minute, with the mother growing weary physically but not giving up her spirited fight to save her child.

The boatman shouted at the mother asking her to let go of the child as the struggle would have ended up toppling the boat, thus throwing all of them into the river and into the mouths of several hungry crocodiles that were now swarming the boat. Realization quickly dawned on the mother that she might end up losing both her children and with an anguished cry, she let go of the child, which was then dragged by the crocodile into the river.

When I read this story, I could not even imagine being in that situation where I had to make such a tough choice. What could she have done in any case? This is a question for which I have not been able to find an answer so far.