An Ungrateful Wolf and a Crane
Once upon a time, there was a lazy wolf living in a jungle. Near his house was a pond. Many animals came to the pond to drink water. The wolf was always in search of food.
One day, he was sitting near the pond hoping to get something to eat. When suddenly he spotted a dead bull. “Aha! What a luck! Now I can eat all I want,” he thought and his mouth strated watering.
He began to eat the bull. A thought struck him, “if another beast comes this way he will ask for a share. I had better eat fast.” ‘Grub! Grub! Grub! Grub1’ he chewed, faster and faster.
In his haste, a piece of bone got stuck in his throat. “Ohh! Errk!” cried the wolf. He tried to bring it out of his mouth. He tried to cough it out but in vain. Next, he tried to swallow it down but he failed.
“Ooh, the bone in throat hurts. What shall I do now?” thought the wolf. Suddenly he remembered that a crane lived on the nearby riverbank.
The wolf went to the crane and pleaded, “My dear Crane! I have got a bone stuck in my throat. I will give you a present, if you pull it out of my throat with your long beak.”
The crane took pity on the wolf. He asked the wolf to look up with his mouth open. The crane then put its head into the wolf’s mouth and pulled out the bone.
“Oh! What a relief!” the wolf sighed.
“Now where is my present?” asked the crane.
“What present?” the wolf replied, pretending not aware of its promise.
“You said that you would give me a present if I remove the bone from your throat,” said the crane humbly.
“Hah! Is it not a present that you put your head into my mouth and got out alive? I could have easily crushed your head while your beak was inside my mouth,” said the ungrateful wolf and went away.
The crane felt helpless and decided not to help any ungrateful creature in the future.
Moral :
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