The Crafty Crane and the Craftier Crab
The moral of this story: Even a very powerful enemy can be defeated through cleverness and deceit.
Once upon a time, there was a big lake that was home to many fish and other water creatures. Near the lake lived a heron who had grown old and could no longer catch fish to eat. He became weak and thin from hunger, so he came up with a plan to get food.
The heron sat at the edge of the lake where everyone could see him and began to cry. A crab saw him and felt sorry for him, so he went over to ask what was wrong. “Uncle, why are you crying instead of catching fish?” he asked.
The heron pretended to be sad and replied, “My child, I have decided to renounce all worldly matters and fast until I die.”
The crab was confused and asked, “If you have renounced worldly matters, why are you crying?”
The heron explained, “I have lived in this lake since I was born. I have grown old here. But now I have heard that this lake will dry up because there will be no rain for the next twelve years.”
The crab was shocked by this news and went to tell the other water creatures. They all panicked when they heard what the heron had said. They believed him because he wasn’t trying to catch any fish.
So they went to the heron for advice on how to save themselves from this disaster. The heron told them about another lake that was not far away. It was full of water and covered with beautiful lotus flowers. He offered to carry them there one by one on his back.
The water creatures were grateful and agreed to the heron’s plan. Every day, he would carry one of them on his back, pretending to take them to the other lake. But instead of taking them there, he would fly to a rock and smash them against it, then eat them up. He would return to the lake later and tell the others that their friend was happy in the new lake.
This went on for many days until the crab asked the heron to take him to the other lake too. The heron was happy because he was getting tired of eating fish every day and wanted something different.
So he carried the crab on his back and flew towards the rock where he had been killing the other water creatures. But as they flew over it, the crab saw all the bones and skeletons below and realized what the heron had been doing.
He stayed calm and said to the heron, “Uncle, you must be getting tired from carrying me all this way. Let’s stop for a rest.”
The heron didn’t think the crab could escape from him while they were in the sky, so he replied, “There is no other lake. This trip is for my own meal. I will smash you against this rock like I do every day and make a meal out of you.”
When the heron confessed his plan, the crab grabbed his neck with his strong claws and strangled him to death. He had saved himself and all the other water creatures from being tricked by the crafty heron.
The moral of this story “The Crafty Crane and the Craftier Crab” is that even a very powerful enemy can be defeated through cleverness and deceit.