Once, a tiger got lost and entered a village. The villagers began to live in terror. Every day, children and cattle were taken away by him. “We must somehow entrap the tiger and teach him a lesson,” a villager suggested.

Within a few days, they succeeded in catching the tiger. They put him inside a huge cage and placed it at the center of the village. People from distant places came to see the trapped tiger and felt relieved.

As the days passed, the tiger grew weaker due to hunger and thirst. “I am a poor animal. Please open the cage for me,” he would say to everyone who came to watch him. But, the villagers never paid any attention to what he said. They feared that he might eat them if he is released from the cage.

One morning, a farmer was passing by the cage. The tiger kept on pleading for help until the farmer was convinced. As soon as the tiger came out, he desired to eat the farmer.

The farmer began to scream. Hearing this, a fox who lived in the nearby forest, came there. The farmer told him how he was deceived by the tiger. The tiger also explained how he had survived without any food or water.

After having listened to both of them, the fox said, “Dear tiger, I can understand your pain. But, I can’t imagine how such a great tiger like you could enter that small cage!” The tiger wanted the fox to believe that he was in that cage, but the fox would not.

At last, the fox said, “I’ll accept this fact only if you show me how you had been trapped.” The tiger happily agreed to this and went back inside the cage. here forever. The fox at once locked the cage and said, “Now stay here forever.”

Moral: Dishonesty can achieve defeat.