Once, a lion had grown very old. He stayed in his cave and could not go out hunting. He had not eaten anything for several days and grew very weak. One day, he thought, “I must somehow get something to eat or I’ll die.”

He thought for a while and came up with a plan. He crawled outside his cave and lay there. “Whoever comes to see me will become my food,” he hoped. Presuming the lion to be gravely ill, many animals visited him to find out how he was. The lion ate all of them one by one.

In this way, the animals in the forest reduced in number. Someone or the other was missing every day. They had no idea about the lion’s trick. They kept visiting him and got killed.

One day, a fox came to see the lion. He saw the footprints of the animals who had come there before him. He noticed the footprints going into the cave, but none came out. As he was very clever, he soon understood the matter.

“Why are you standing outside?” asked the lion. The fox became cautious. He replied, “If I step inside the cave, I’ll become your prey. Others had been a fool and could not save their lives, but I am not that fool. I’ll inform everyone that you are well now so that no one comes here again.” Saying this, the fox left.

Moral: Keep your eyes open.