This story is about a clever fox — not just clever, but also quite lazy! This fox lived in a beautiful, large forest filled with many animals. But unlike the others, the fox didn’t like hunting at all.
Instead of hunting for food, the fox came up with a clever plan. It would go to animals that were good hunters and make a bet. Yes, you heard it right — a betting game!
Let’s say the fox went to the tiger. If the tiger had hunted some food, the fox would say,
"Hey, see that lion over there? I bet that lion is going to hunt that group of deer."
The tiger would reply, “Are you sure? I don’t think so. That deer won’t be hunted.”
But the fox would confidently say, “Look at its eyes — it's clearly looking in that direction. I’m sure it will get caught.”
And guess what? Most of the time, the lion did hunt the exact deer the fox predicted!
So, the tiger would lose the bet and give its food to the fox.
This is how the lazy fox kept eating without ever hunting — by using tricks and winning bets.
But eventually, the other animals realized something was wrong. Even though they hunted well, they were always hungry. All their food somehow ended up with the fox!
They started to think seriously:
“What’s going on? This fox is tricking us and living comfortably while we’re starving!”
But they couldn't openly talk about it — the fox was too smart and always guessed what they were planning.
So, the animals secretly created a plan. They passed the idea quietly from one animal to another using a clever bird. The bird would go from place to place, pretending to eat while actually sharing the plan.
What was the plan? They decided to stage a drama — a fake scene! In this act, a wolf would pretend to hunt a specific animal, but instead, it would hunt a different one. This way, the fox’s predictions would go wrong!
All the animals, even the wild and aggressive ones, became friends for this mission.
The stage was set, and everything was planned.
Soon, the fox came to the tiger again and said,
“Hey, I bet that wolf is going to hunt that animal.”
But this time, the wolf pretended and hunted a different one.
The fox lost the bet!
This happened a few more times. The fox kept losing and couldn’t eat. Days passed, and the fox became tired, hungry, and weak. It couldn't even move anymore, let alone make bets.
Feeling sorry, the animals finally came to the fox and said,
“Do you know what? This was all a drama we acted to teach you a lesson. You tricked us with bets and took our food. We were starving. Now you know what that feels like.”
Hearing this, the fox felt ashamed and said,
“I’m sorry. I was lazy and didn’t want to hunt. I thought this was an easy way to survive. Please forgive me.”
The tiger said,
“You should hunt for your own food. Don’t use tricks to take from others. Use your cleverness for good. Use it to find your own food, not to steal others. That’s the right way.”
Moral of the story:
Betting or taking shortcuts might look easy, but true success comes from our own hard work and efforts. Let’s not chase only rewards — let’s work honestly for them.
