Wolf

A wolf had not eaten for many days. Poor fellow had failed to catch even a small rabbit.

Driven by hunger he walked into a village. He thought that he would remain alert and cautious and try to steal a goat or a sheep or a rooster to satisfy his hunger.

He sneaked into a house and saw a goat in a corner. He was about to pounce on it when the goat said, “Don’t even think of eating me. I am suffering from pneumonia. My lungs are rotting. If you eat me you too will catch pneumonia and die. Why don’t you eat the sheep that is in the next house? She is such a fat sheep.”

The wolf had never heard of pneumonia. He got scared and ran away. He entered the next house. He saw a sheep. He was crawling towards the sheep when it said, “Be careful of the hounds; any moment they would be here. Be quick and hide somewhere; they are real vicious hounds.”

Hunger was driving the wolf mad. But he was too weak to face a pack of vicious hounds. He chose to beat a hasty retreat. He went into another house and saw a big rooster.

The rooster looked at the wolf and angrily shouted, “I know you are the witch that walks in the garb of a wolf. My master has been looking for you. He wants to burn you alive. Let me alert my master.”

The wolf ran for his life lest he was caught and burnt alive. He was now disheartened and tired. He thought he would make one last effort to get something to eat. He sneaked into the next house. He saw a big, fat pig in that house and smiled at his luck.

“Did the goat, the sheep and the rooster make a fool of me?” he began to ponder while eyeing the pig.  “But I will not let this pig make a fool of me.”

The pig looked at the wolf and fearlessly turned his back towards him. The wolf felt insulted. He jumped on the pig. But midway he was hit by a blast of hot, stinking air; the accompanying sound was deafening.

The pig was suffering from indigestion and he had just farted.

The poor wolf could not survive the ‘chemical weapon’ released by the pig and collapsed on the ground.

© i b arora