Once there lived a lion in the forests of the Himalayan mountains. The lion was very mighty and strong. He ruled the forest, but never troubled the forest animals without reason.
One afternoon the lion hunted down a buffalo for his meal. After having his meal the lion decided to return to his cave for resting. On his way back the lion met a jackal.
The jackal said, "O mighty king! I wish to serve you. Accept me as your servant and I shall follow you wherever you go".
The lion was pleased by the jackal's gesture. He accepted the jackal's servitude. The jackal was very cunning. He pretended to serve the lion, though his real intention was to follow the lion and feed on the leftovers of his food.
Time passed by. The jackal followed the lion wherever he went. Initially, he fed on the leftovers from the lion's meal, but later he started taking larger portions from his meal.
Over a period of time, the jackal grew fat. He had stopped hunting and merrily enjoyed food. He was too proud to be associated with the mighty lion. He often visited the forest animals and bullied over them. The animals respected him out of fear.
Soon the jackal started taking full meals from the lion's food. He grew fat and strong. He often went to the forest and bully over other forest animals. The animals respected him out of fear. He was not required to it in search of prey and lived merrily with the lion.
One day the jackal glorified himself. He said to himself, "I have served the lion long enough. I am now powerful. Proudly, now all forest animals are scared of me. Only the lion seems to be stronger than me'.
Next morning, the jackal left with the lion in search of prey. They saw an elephant roaming in the forest. The elephant was the all lone. Seeing the elephant, the jackal said in a humble tone, " O Great King, allow me to hunt for you and serve you better".
Though the lion was pleased to hear the jackal, he was equally surprised to hear him. He said, "I appreciate your spirit. But it is not a small animal that you are eying. It's an elephant! I warn you not to attack it".
But the jackal was too deep in pride. He was overconfident about his strenght and standing. In an attempt to prove his mettle, the jackal ignored the lion's advise. He quickly ran down the hill and jumped over the elephant in an attempt to kill it.
The elephant grew very angry. He gave a loud trumpet and lifted the jackal with his trunk. The elephant swirled the jackal, as the lion stood and watched helplessly. He banged the jackal against a tree trunk with all his force. The jackal's skull broke and he died. The lion felt sorry for the jackal and returned to his cave.
Moral: Folly and false pride always leads to trouble.
No comments :
Post a Comment