The Clever Jackal and the Cave

Moral of the story: Use your tact to protect yourself from destruction.

Once upon a time, there was a lion named Kharanakhara who ruled over a certain part of a jungle.

One day, he couldn’t find any prey despite wandering around the jungle all day. As the sun began to set, the hungry lion started to return home. On his way, he noticed a big cave and thought, “Surely, some animal must be living in this big cave. Such a nice cave cannot be uninhabited. I’ll hide inside and wait for my dinner to arrive.”

The cave was actually home to a jackal who arrived a while after the lion had hidden himself inside. The jackal noticed the lion’s footprints leading into the cave but saw no footprints coming out.

He thought, “If a lion has indeed entered, I’ll be dead as soon as I enter. But how can I be sure? There’s no reason for me to stay away from my home if there’s no lion inside. I must find a way to confirm if the lion is still inside.”

The jackal came up with a plan and standing in front of the cave, he began to shout, “Hello Cave! Hello Cave! Can I come inside?”

He waited for a moment in silence and shouted again, “Hello Cave! Have you forgotten our understanding of all these years? I always wait for your reply before I enter. Why are you silent today? If you don’t reply, I’ll go to some other cave.”

Hearing this, the lion thought, “The cave must reply to the jackal when he returns at sunset. It’s because I’m inside that the cave isn’t replying today. I must invite him on behalf of the cave or the jackal will go away.”

So, the lion replied from inside the cave, “Hello Jackal, you may enter. It’s safe inside.”

The reply echoed off the walls of the cave and sounded even more frightening. The jackal immediately knew that the lion was waiting for him inside and ran off as fast as he could, saving himself.

Indeed, it is wise to say that one should use their tact to protect themselves from destruction.

Moral of the story “The Clever Jackal and the Cave” is Use your tact to protect yourself from destruction.