In a dense jungle far away lived a lion and a lioness. They had two male cubs too. The family roamed happily around the forest. The lion hunted and brought home the prey to his wife, while she stayed and protected the cubs and fed them.
The lion went out as usual one day to hunt. But that day, he had no luck. He did not find even a little animal to bring home for his wife. He was returning home very sad and tired, when he saw a baby jackal on the way. He did not feel like killing it, so he picked it up gently and carried it to his wife.
When the lioness saw the baby jackal, she decided to bring it up as her third son. So she gave him milk and protected him as she looked after her own cubs. The three cubs grew up as brothers; eating the same food; playing the same games; and wandering through the same forest.
One day, as they were playing, an elephant came out of the trees. The lion cubs rushed to attack the elephant. But the jackal hung back saying, “Stop! Stop! The elephant is an enemy of our species. It will kill us! Stay away, brothers! Don’t go near him!”
The cubs were very fond of one another, so they obeyed their ‘brother’ jackal and stood back. But they laughed at the jackal all the way home, and when they got there, they told their parents how he ran away on seeing the elephants. This made the jackal very angry and upset. He began to scold the lion cubs harshly.
The lioness understood the situation and took the jackal aside and talked to him. “You must not scold your brothers like this. It is not nice to talk so badly, my dear,” she told him. But the jackal was offended by their laughter. “Why do they laugh at me? I am equally good at everything. I am handsome, I am strong and brave. And I am as clever as they are. So, why do they mock me?” he asked.
The lioness realised that the time had come for the jackal to learn the truth. So gently and lovingly she explained to him,” My dear, you are brave and intelligent like the others. But there is a difference. We brought you into our home because you had been left as an orphan. You are really from a different species. You are a jackal. In your family no one has killed elephants. It will be better for you to leave before the cubs know the truth.” The jackal ran for his life!
