In a jungle far and wide, there lived a Lion. He was the King of the jungle. All the animals bowed down to him. The Lion was mighty. He could kill any animal he wanted.
A Wolf also lived in the jungle. The wolf dreamt of becoming the King of the jungle. He also wanted all the animals to bow down to him. But he did not know how this would happen.
One summer afternoon, the Wolf was walking in the jungle. It was a hot day and the sun shone directly above him. As he was walking, he noticed a big shadow. For a minute, the Wolf got sacred. He thought, ‘whose shadow is it? Is someone following me?’ But he looked around and did not find anyone. He started walking again.
As he moved, he realised it was his own shadow. “But the shadow looks so big! Am I really big and mighty? Yes, I am. Look it’s my shadow. Now I am mightier than the Lion,” the Wolf spoke to his shadow.
He directly went towards the Lion’s den to kill him. Once he would kill the Lion, he would become the King of the jungle. He called out to the Lion, “Lion! I am the strong Wolf. And I have come here to kill you. Come out if you dare.”
The Lion was angry. He walked out of the den and pounced on the Wolf. The Wolf was immediately killed.
While the Wolf was taking his last breath, he thought, ‘The shadow was deceptive. I should have known my own strength.’ He gave away his life because of his sheer foolishness.
