The Lion's Hunt .

- “If you had gone to the river, the lion would have seen you and eaten you.”

Jivram Joshi

O nce upon a time, there was a large forest. Many animals lived in that forest.

One jackal was sitting quietly near the riverbank, hidden in the bushes. The sun had already set, and evening had fallen. Just then, another jackal came along, walking softly.

The first jackal saw it and called out,

"O cousin...!"

The second jackal stopped. He recognized the voice as one of his own kind. He turned around.

From behind a tree trunk, the first jackal said,

"Not that way, look over here, cousin!"

The second jackal saw another jackal - his relative.

"Namaste, dear friend," he said and walked up to him.

"Where are you going?" asked the first jackal.

"I'm out to look for food," replied the second.

The first jackal smiled and said,

"Good thing I saw you. You should thank me."

"Why?" asked the second jackal.

The first jackal said,

"If I hadn't stopped you, you would've gone towards the riverbank, right?"

"Absolutely right," said the second jackal.

The first jackal continued,

"Then you wouldn't find any prey - instead, you would have become prey."

"What do you mean?" asked the second jackal. The first jackal said, "It's evening now. A lion passes this way every day to go drink water at the river. He's due any minute. If you had gone to the river, the lion would have seen you and eaten you. He's always very hungry at this time."

The second jackal thought,

"Even if this jackal is my cousin, I shouldn't blindly trust him. When a stranger warns you about something, you should think - why is he telling me this?" So he asked,

"Then tell me, dear cousin - if the lion walks this way, why are you sitting here? Aren't you scared?"

The first jackal laughed and said,

"Dear cousin, don't you know - no jackal would ever sit in the lion's path if he meant to die!?"

"That's true," said the second jackal. "A jackal who gets tricked by others isn't worthy of the name."

The first jackal said,

"I'm not here to die - I'm here with a plan. When the lion goes to the river, some deer, cow, or buffalo might pass this way. I'll warn them, 'Don't go that way! A lion is waiting!' I'll convince them to go this way instead. And then the lion will catch and kill them.

"As soon as that happens, I'll run over there and pretend to guard the prey. When the lion leaves for a walk after killing, the meat cools down and the blood clots. The lion enjoys a good walk before eating. After he eats and drinks, he returns to his cave. That's when I eat whatever's left and satisfy my hunger."

The second jackal said,

"Wow, you're really living the good life!"

The first jackal said,

"If you join me, it'll be even better for both of us."

The second jackal replied,

"If that's the case, I'm ready. Tell me the plan."

The first jackal explained the whole trick.

The second jackal said,

"Great idea, cousin!"

The Next Day

That evening, the second jackal hid as per the plan.

The lion came and walked toward the river.

A deer appeared. The first jackal stopped it and convinced it to go the other way - right into the lion's path. The lion caught the deer and killed it.

The jackal ran to the lion, bowed, and said,

"Dear uncle, today's prey was very clever. He was about to go the other way, but I convinced him to come this way!"

The lion said,

"Alright, don't praise yourself too much. I'm going for a walk. Food tastes better after a stroll."

As soon as the lion left, the jackal gave a happy shout. Hearing it, the second jackal came out from hiding.

The first jackal said,

"Come, cousin. Grab one ear of the deer, I'll grab the other. Let's pull it away together."

They both dragged the dead deer far from there.

"See?" said the first jackal. "The deer is so heavy. I couldn't have dragged it alone. Together we did it. Now you stay here and I'll go back to the riverbank."

The second jackal sat near the deer, while the first went back.

Subhead:

Later That Night

The lion returned from his walk. The jackal stood with a sad face and tears in his eyes.

The lion asked,

"Where did the deer go?"

The jackal replied tearfully,

"Uncle, as soon as you left, a tiger came. He saw the deer, grabbed its neck, and I told him, 'This prey belongs to the lion, my uncle!' But he said angrily, 'I'm not afraid of any lion,' and took the deer away!"

The lion became furious.

"I'll teach that tiger a lesson!" he roared and ran off.

The two jackals were overjoyed. They had tricked the lion and eaten his prey.

A Few Days Later

Again, the lion hunted a deer. Once again, after asking the jackal to guard it, he went off for a walk. As before, the second jackal came, and both of them dragged the deer away.

When the lion returned, the deer was missing again.

The jackal gave the same excuse:

"The tiger came and took it."

This time, the lion became suspicious.

"Would the same tiger dare come again and again? Let me wait and see what's really happening."

The lion hid nearby to observe.

The Truth Is Revealed

That night, the moon rose late and was now shining brightly.

The lion went quietly to where he had left the deer. He saw marks in the sand where the body had been dragged. He also noticed footprints in the dust.

There were no tiger paw prints - only jackal prints.

The lion understood the trick.

He roared and leapt straight at the jackal, grabbed its neck, and killed it with a bite.

Moral 

Cleverness without honesty is deceit. And deceit is always caught in the end.