There lived a wolf in a deep forest. He was very greedy and selfish. He thought only about himself and had no friends in the jungle. Every animal hated him for his cunning and stayed away from him.
One day, the wolf was very hungry and went out for hunting. After roaming around for hours and hours in the thick jungle, he found a wild rooster. He pounced on the rooster and made it his meal. When he was eating the rooster, suddenly a small bone got stuck in his throat.
The wolf coughed and coughed but could not get the bone out of his throat. His face went red with all that coughing. He tried his best to get the bone out, but all in vain. He ran up and down the small hills in the forest, groaning and moaning, trying to relieve his pain.
Then it became difficult for him to breathe. He ran back towards his den and started pleading with all the other animals that he met to help him get the bone out. “Help! Someone please help me get this bone out…” begged Kalu. But no one stepped forward to help the shrewd wolf.
Then at last, the wolf thought of a crane who lived on the bank of a nearby lake. He went to the crane and begged for help. He also promised to pay the crane suitably for helping him. The kind crane took pity on seeing the wolf’s condition and decided to help him. The crane told the wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. She put her long neck down his throat and pulled the bone out.
“Ahhhh! I feel so much better,” said the wolf, taking long deep breaths. “I am glad that you are fine. Now it is your turn to give me the reward you promised.” said the crane.
The wolf grinned wide, showing all his teeth. He said, “Dear Crane, be content. You put your head inside a wolf’s mouth and took it out again safely. Isn’t that a big reward in itself? I guess this reward is good enough for you. You must be thankful to me for not tearing you apart when your head was inside my mouth.”
Poor crane was very disappointed and left the place with a heavy heart. She made a mistake by trusting someone as shrewd as the wolf. The crane learnt her lesson. We should be careful of wicked people.
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