A bloodthirsty lion has settled in the forest. He killed many animals. And then one day all the inhabitants of the forest got together and decided that they had to come up with something, because they couldn’t live like this any longer.
One old hare said:
“In our forest, in the hollow of a large tree, a raven has been living for three hundred years. Let's go to him. He is wise and will help us with advice.
The animals came to the raven and asked:
- Oh, venerable one! Do you know what difficult times have come in our forest?
“I know,” the raven answered in a hoarse voice.
- You are old and wise, advise us something. Otherwise we will all be lost.
“It was a long time ago,” the raven began to tell. “My parents lived in this hollow.” Every year they had offspring. And they were happy until a big black snake came to them. Every time chicks appeared in the hollow, she crawled and ate them. And when this happened again, my mother said to my father: “Let’s leave this nest and fly to distant lands.” But her father answered her: “You and I lived here for many years and were happy. And I won't back down. You need to fight for your happiness." “How can you fight such a cruel and treacherous enemy?” - asked my mother. “I’ll think of something,” the raven answered and flew to the lake, which was nearby.
At that moment, the prince and his retinue came to the lake to swim. He undressed and entered the water. The raven circled over the lake and saw that among the prince’s clothes lay a golden chain. Seizing the moment, he grabbed her and slowly flew to his nest. The servants screamed and rushed to catch up with the “thief,” and he laid the chain near his hollow. The servants climbed the tree, took the chain and, finding a black snake in the hollow, killed it. This is how my father defeated the big black snake. And you can defeat the tyrant if you understand one thing: “The smarter is the stronger!”
The raven finished his story, and the animals began to think.
After a while the old hare said:
- I think I came up with an idea!
And he went to the lion. Running to him, he exclaimed:
- Oh, great and powerful king of beasts! You are the master in this forest, and all the animals recognize your dominance. But another lion appeared and declared that now he would be the owner of the forest.
The bloodthirsty lion roared:
-Where is this impostor? Show it to me quickly!
“Come with me and I’ll show it to you,” said the hare and ran along the path. Leo hurried after him. Running to the well, the hare said: “He is here!”
The lion looked into the well and saw his own reflection in the water. Growling menacingly, he rushed into the well and drowned.
All the animals poured out into the clearing, rejoiced and said:
“The raven was right: whoever is smarter is stronger!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru