Once upon a time there lived a jackal in his hole near a river. He often went to the river to drink. And in that river there lived a crocodile. Every day he hid near the shore under the bushes in the hope that some animal would go to drink the water and then he would catch it.
Once a jackal came to the river and saw: the water near the shore was muddy and dirty. The jackal entered the river further away to drink some cleaner water, and the crocodile grabbed his leg! The jackal was scared, but then he gained courage and began to think about how he could get his paw out of the crocodile’s mouth. And this is what he came up with: “I won’t move my paw at all, as if it’s not mine!”
And he said to the crocodile in a calm voice: “Oh, friend crocodile, my feet are stuck in the mud, I’m drowning!” Help me, grab my leg quickly!
The crocodile fell for this bait.
“What a fool I am! - he thought. “I mistook the algae roots for a jackal’s paw and I sit and hold them in my teeth!” He let go of the jackal and grabbed the root. The jackal rejoiced and said:
– Thank you very much! - And he left, humming a cheerful song.
When the crocodile realized that the jackal had deceived him, he became furious at his own stupidity.
And the next day the jackal appeared on the shore again. He was sure that the crocodile was sitting there, waiting for him. But in order to check whether he was mistaken, the jackal said loudly:
– When I drank water yesterday, I saw small fish swimming in the water and blowing bubbles. And today the water is smooth, without a single bubble. I guess I won't drink water!
After these words, the crocodile began to breathe and bubbles began to appear in the water. The jackal realized that it was a crocodile and ran away.
And in parting he said to the crocodile:
- Ah, Mr. Crocodile! If you were planning to dine with me today, you were mistaken - you will have to fast!
The crocodile was upset and complained for a long time about his stupidity.
The jackal no longer drank water from the river, but began to go to the pond. The crocodile was very angry with him - after all, the jackal had fooled him twice. And he began to think about how he could catch the jackal.
A large mango tree grew near the river. The jackal was a big fan of juicy, ripe mangoes and often visited this tree to taste the fruit. The crocodile found out about this, collected a lot of mangoes in a pile, and buried himself in them.
The jackal came under the tree, but when he saw a huge pile of mangoes, he became doubtful. He used a proven method.
“The last time I came here,” he said, the mango itself jumped from the pile right into my paws. But today I don’t see this. Strange!
The crocodile heard these words, chose several mangoes and threw them to the jackal. The jackal realized that someone was hiding in the heap and sang:
A deceiver lurks in the sweet fruits - the foolish are lost, the cautious are saved!
He sang and ran away. The crocodile rushed after him, but could not catch up. He became more angry than ever at his stupidity and swore that he would take the jackal’s life.
Several days passed. One day at noon a crocodile crept up to a jackal's hole, climbed into it and hid in the hope of catching the jackal when he returned home.
When the jackal approached the hole, he noticed large footprints on the ground. Was there a crocodile hiding in his hole? At first he was scared, and then he came closer and shouted:
- Mink is my mink! Why are you silent, why don’t you give a voice?
And he added:
“It used to be that I would approach the house and the mink would greet me with a sweet song.” What happened to her today? Maybe someone crushed her throat?
Then the crocodile will sing in a hoarse voice:
Hello, hello, my master!
I'm your maid! I'm your maid! The jackal immediately recognized the crocodile's voice. He thought and said:
- Eh, I forgot to bring the firewood! We need to light a fire. I'll be right back!
He hauled branches, lit a fire and brought the burning brand to the exit of the hole. The crocodile suffocated from the heat and smoke, but the jackal continued to sit and hum a song.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru