Once, the king of the jungle, the lion, announced an Animal Marathon. All the animals were excited about this ‘Animal Marathon’. But, the lion observed that two of the animals, the cheetah and the tortoise, were not looking so happy. He asked both of them, individually, why they were not looking happy about the Animal Marathon. The tortoise said, “Your Majesty, I am very slow. Even if I try hard, I can never win.” The cheetah said, “I will certainly win, as I am the fastest animal. But then there would be no fun in the contest for the others.” The lion thought for a while and said, “Mr. Tortoise, you can fire the pistol at the starting line, and Mr. Cheetah, you can carry the Marathon Torch.” Finally, the matter was resolved and all the animals, happily, took part in the Animal Marathon.
The Animal Marathon
