Long ago, a big jackal wanted some fish to eat. He
went to look for a dried pond so that he could catch the fish easily.
One day, he found a pond which had only a little water, a lot of mud and
many kinds of fish in it.
“I’m hungry today,” the jackal thought, “I’m very hungry.”
A shrimp in the pond knew what the jackal was thinking.
“Brother Jackal,” he said in a kind voice, “You can eat us all up. But look,
we’re covered in mud. If you eat us like this, we’ll taste horrible.”
“What can I do to make you taste nice?” asked the jackal.
“Take us away and wash us,” said the shrimp.
“But there are thousands of fish in the pond. Where can I take you all? And
how can I wash you all?”
“Don’t worry,” said the shrimp. “Just stretch out in the mud. Let some of
us hang on to your fur. Then you can get up and take us to pond with a lot of
water in it,”
The jackal was greedy and stupid. So he did what the shrimp said. He
stretched out in the mud. Some of the fish hung on to his fur. Then the jackal
got up and went to look for another into it. The fish in his fur jumped off
into the water.
“Go back,” said the shrimp to the jackal, “and pick up the other fish.” So
the jackal went back and got some more of the fish. Again and again, he walked
back to the old pond. At last, all the fish were in the pond full of water.
When the fish saw they were all together again, they swam away into deep
water. When jackal saw they had tricked him, he was very angry.
He hurried away to look for big animals, snakes, and birds. He found
elephants, tiger, buffaloes, and pigs. He found python and cobras. He found crows,
sparrows, and vultures. He said to them, “Please help me to empty
all the water out of the pond.”
He said to the python, “the animals and birds will take the water out of
the pond. Then you can Swallow it.”
When the fish in the pond heard this, they were frightened. They said to
each other, “What can we do to stop these animals?”
A cat-fish said, “People say the hare is very clever animal. He knows how
to help animals in trouble. Shall I go and ask him to help us?”
The other fish agreed. So the cat-fish left the pond to look for the hare.
All day he moved slowly and heavily along the ground—flip flop, flip flop. In
the evening, the hare came out to look for some food. When he saw the catfish
he asked, “Where are you going?”
The cat-fish was happy to see the hare and said, “Oh brother hare, have
pity on me. The fish in the pond have asked me to find you. People say you are
very clever. You can help animals in trouble. Please help us. All kinds of
animals and snakes and birds have come to our pond. They are going to take the
water out of the pond. Then the python will swallow the water and the jackal
will eat up all the fish! Come and help us.”
“all right” said the hare, “Go back and tell the other fish not to be
afraid.” The cat –fish then went back to the pond.
The next morning, the hare come along. He saw the animals taking out the
water. He found a long leaf which some worms had eaten. It was full of little
holes. He shouted to the animals, “Brothers! I have a letter to you from the
great God Indra,” he looked at the left and pretended to read it. “He says he
will come and break the ducks’ leg and crush the eagles. He will cut off the jackal’s head and pull
out the elephant’s tusks!”
The animals were frightened when they heard this. They climbed on top of
each other. Then they climbed on top of the pythons. The pythons burst. All the
pond water rushed out of their bodies. The water came out so fast that all the
animals drowned.
And instead of the animals eating the fish, the fish ate the animals.
Difficult words...
1.
Horrible :
Meengerikan
2.
Just stretch : Hanya peregangan
3.
Vultures :
Burung nasar
4.
Deep :
Mendalam
5.
Tusks :
Gading
6.
Burst :
Meledak
7.
Rushed :
Bergegas
8.
Drowned :
Tenggelam
Moral value...
*We should not take anything for granted to the
new people we know, in life
we also have to
use common sense and mind so that we do not
get caught up in a minor problem that
could be great. We
also should not be too greedy.
*Kita tidak boleh
percaya begitu saja kepada orang yang baru kita kenal, dalam hidup kita juga harus
menggunakan akal dan fikiran sehingga kita tidak terjebak dalam suatu masalah
kecil yang bisa menjadi besar. Kita juga tidak boleh terlalu serakah.
