English short story: A Foolish Lion

A Foolish Lion

Once upon a time, there lived a lion in a forest. He had grown old and could not run fast anymore. As days went by, it became more and more difficult for him to hunt.

One day, he was wandering through the forest in search for food, he came across a cave. He peeped in and smelt the air inside the cave. He said to himself, “Some animal must be staying here." He crept inside the cave only to find it empty. Then he decided to stay inside and wait for the animals to return.

That cave was the home of a jackal that would go out in search of food everyday and return in the evening. That evening, the jackal, after having his meal, went to his cave. But as he came closer, he felt something wrong. Everything around him was very quiet. “Something is wrong,” the jackal said to himself. “Why are all the birds and insects so silent?"

He walked towards his cave very slowly and cautiously. He looked around him, watching for any signs of danger. As he got closer to the cave, all his instincts alerted him of danger. “I have to make sure that everything is alright,” thought the jackal. Suddenly, he thought of a plan.

The clever jackal called out to the cave. “Hello my good cave, what happened to you today? Why are you so quiet?”

The jackal’s voice echoed deep inside the cave. The lion, who by now could not control his hunger any longer, thought to himself, “I think it is because I am here that the cave is silent. Before the jackal realises that something is wrong, I should do something.”

The jackal continued to call out, “Have you forgotten our agreement cave? You are supposed to greet me when I return home." The lion tried to make his voice sound hollow and called out from within the cave, “Welcome home my friend."

The birds chirped loudly and flew away on hearing the lion’s roar. As for the jackal, he shook with fear. Before the hungry lion could pounce on him and eat him up, the jackal ran for his life.

The lion waited for a long for the jackal to enter the cave. But when the jackal did not come in, the lion realised that he had been fooled. He cursed himself for his foolishness that made him lose a prey.