In a huge evergreen forest, an old Banyan tree was colonized by number of cranes. Near the roots of that very tree there lived a black cobra in a hole. He was very cruel. Whenever any mother-crane laid eggs in her nest, the cobra would go there stealthily and eat up the eggs.
The cranes could not do anything but bewail for some days and be silent. They felt just helpless indeed.
But one brave crane decided to put an end to his sufferings when his own eggs laid by his better half were eaten up by the Cobra. He was mentally prepared to get rid of that cruel cobra. He flew to a nearby pool and sat weeping there over the loss of the eggs.
That pool was a home to a lonely crab and he happened to saw the weeping crane and asked him, “What is the matter, Mr. Crane ? Why are you weeping like that ?”
“A cruel cobra is my main worry . We are just helpless before him. That cobra eats all our eggs laid by our companions in our absence. We cannot do anything but weep. This time he has eaten up the eggs that my wife laid yesterday,” replied the crane.
After listening to the crane’s sad story, the lonely crab said to himself, “These cranes are always cruel to us-“THE CRABS“. They eat up our young ones when they can. I must guide him so that he and his companions suffer even more. That is the best way to extract revenge against them.”
So, pretending to be his Well-wisher, the crab said,” Mr. Crane! I have hit upon an idea. If you execute this idea perfectly than you can get rid of that menacing Cobra for once and all. All you have to do is to guide a Mongoose to the place of the Cobra near the roots of your tree. There is a Mongoose living not far from this place. You just have to bait him with fish pieces till that Mongoose reaches the hole of the Cobra and then that Cobra will be a History.”
Crab’s idea was very much liked by the crane and was very happy but the crane didn’t weigh the pros and cons of this idea out of his sheer happiness. He flew about from place to place and at last found a hole that was the home of a mongoose. Then he flew back to the pool and caught some fish. Cutting them into bits, he strewed them from the hole of the mongoose to the hole of the black cobra.
The plan worked naturally and the mongoose followed the fish pieces to reach the cobra’s hole. As a result, a bitter fight between the two arch enemies-“the Cobra and the Mongoose” – followed. In the end, the cruel cobra was eaten up by the mongoose.
When the cranes came to know of what had happened, they felt happy with joy. They had got rid of the cruel cobra for all time to come after all.
But the mongoose did not go back to his hole. On the other hand, he started living in the cobra’s hole. A few days passed happily for every body living in the old banyan tree. But then a strange thing happened that led to the ruin of all the cranes living in that tree.
One day the mongoose chanced to climb up the banyan tree. Suddenly he caught sight of some eggs lying in one of the nests. The cranes were away hunting food at that time. So, the mongoose felt happy and ate them up. Thus the cranes came to have another enemy much more dangerous than the cobra.
When the crane couple returned to their nest, they found their eggs missing. So, they wept bitterly over the loss. But they could not find the culprit who had eaten their eggs. So, they talked to other cranes about it. At last they came to know that the eggs had been eaten by the mongoose. What could they do now ? They could find no way-out to get rid of the mongoose.
As for the mongoose, he proved even more cruel to the cranes. Whenever he was not able to get any other food, he would go up the tree and swallow the eggs lying in any of the nests there. But that was not the end of the sad tale.
One day the mongoose climbed up the tree at midnight. He found all the cranes lying fast asleep. Hungry as he was, he gripped the neck of a sleeping crane in his mouth and strangled him to death. Then he dragged the dead crane down to his hole and enjoyed a hearty meal.
From that day onwards, it became a routine with the mongoose. Whenever he felt hungry, he would wait for the night to get dark. When all the cranes were fast asleep, the mongoose would quietly climb up the tree and catch hold of a sleeping crane, digging its sharp teeth into its victim’s neck, killing it instantly. He enjoyed its flesh for a day or two and then made another crane his next target.
Sooner than later, one by one each and every crane were killed by the mongoose to satisfy his hunger. Had the first crane WEIGHED the PROS and CONS of the plan suggested by the crab, he would not have committed a blunder of leading the mongoose to the cobra’s hole. The cobra had been satisfied with their eggs only. But the cruel mongoose ate up even the cranes.
So, CHILDREN! Learn to weigh the GOOD and BAD points of anything that you choose to take in your hands.
