The Lion and the Jackal

One day, a brave jackal came to the river to drink some water. He saw the lion, looking weak and tired and asked, "What is the matter, O King of the Jungle?"

The lion told the jackal his story. The jackal felt sorry for the lion. He pulled and pulled at the lion's tail until the lion became free. The lion was very, very happy and he said, "Thank you so much for helping me. I thought I would die! You are my friend for life! I would like you to come and live with me and my family. From now on, I will hunt and share the food with you."

The jackal moved in with the lion's family and had a wonderful time because he did not have to hunt any more. The lion did as he had promised. He hunted for food and shared the food with the jackal.

Soon, the lion had children of his own and so did the jackal. But the two continued to be friends. However, the lioness was not happy about the friendship. She complained to her children. Her children complained to the jackal's children; the jackal's children complained to their mother and their mother complained to the jackal.

The jackal was upset and told the lion, "You told me to live with you. I thought you were a good friend and so I started living with you. If you don't like it any more, you should have said so yourself."The lion was shocked and said, "This is not true. I never complained about you. I still want you to continue staying with me."

The clever jackal said, "We understand each other. But our families don't. Perhaps it is better for us to live apart but continue meeting each other when we are free. We can even hunt together!"

The two families parted, but the lion and the jackal met often and remained friends for the rest of their lives.

The moral of the story is that your family may not respond in the same positive way to your friends as you do. But if your friend has helped you, remember to maintain that friendship, but don't give up on your family also.

courtesy:www.sitagita.com