The King's Choice

The King's Choice

Dear Kids,

Here's a story which tells you to concentrate on your own area of strength!

There was a lion that was the king of the forest. He was big and handsome, fierce and strong. All the other animals brought him gifts from every corner of the forest. But the more he got, the more he wanted. 'A king must have courtiers,' he said to himself one day. The lion called a fox to his side. "You are known to be wise and clever. I want you to be adviser."

'Thank you, your Majesty," said the fox, bowing low.

Then he called a leopard. "You are known to be alert and swift-footed. You will be my bodyguard." "Thank you, your Majesty," said the leopard bowing low. The next to be called was a crow. "You are a bird and can fly quite high. You will be my messenger." "Thank you, your Majesty," said the crow, bowing low.

The fox, the crow, and the leopard took oaths of loyalty to the king. He promised them food and protection. For some time, all was well. The three courtiers never opposed the king. His wishes were law. Whenever he roared they stood in awe. Wherever he went, they followed him. When the king went hunting, they found the animals for him to kill. After he did was eat to his fill, and left the remains for them. So, they always had enough to eat.

One day, the crow came to the king. "Your Majesty, have you ever tried camel meat? It is tasty. I ate some in the desert once." The lion had never seen a camel, and he liked the idea of tasting camel meat. "But where can we get a camel?" he asked. "There is a desert some miles away. I have just been flying over it. I saw a lone camel there. It looked big and fat." The lion looked at his other advisers. They were wise and experienced. He wanted their opinion.

The fox and the leopard did not know much about a desert. But they did not want the crow to seem wiser. So they said it was a good idea. The crow could fly ahead and show them the way. Next morning the lion and his aides set out for the desert. They soon reached the edge of the desert. But once they had left the shelter of the forest, the blazing sun beat down on them. It was unbearably hot. High up in the cool air, the crow flew.

Hurry along," he called out. "The camel is not far off." But the lion could go no further. The hot sand had burned his paws. "Stop!" he shouted to the others. "Let us go back to the forest. I do not care for camel meat." His advisers were frightened. The forest was far behind them. They did not know how get the lion back home. The leopard wanted to run away.

Needless to say, this was what was running in the mind of the lion as well.

Finally, they all gave up hope and went off to their old forest.

Thus, it was, that the camel was saved!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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