Once, a coyote was crossing the meadow. He had kept going in a straight line without taking any turning at all. He was stubborn and now he was tired too.
Suddenly, he heard a voice cry out, “Stop!” He looked around but nothing and nobody was visible. So, whose voice was that, he wondered.
He took a few steps forward and the voice spoke again, “Go around me.” He looked down and found there was a snake lying in his path, blocking his way.
“I have been walking in a straight line all the way,” said the coyote, “I am not going around anything or anyone. You had better move out of my way!”
“I have been sitting here for a long time,” said the snake who was equally stubborn, “I have not moved for anyone. Do you think I’ll move for you?”
“If you don’t move, I’ll simply step on you and walk away,” said the coyote. “If you step over me, I shall bite you and you will definitely die,” said the snake.
“I know I won’t!” said the stubborn coyote, and he stepped over the snake.
The snake immediately bit him, but in his enthusiasm the coyote did not notice that he had been bitten.
The coyote went on walking till he reached a stream. He stopped for a drink of water. Looking into the water, he saw his own reflection in it. ‘That’s funny!’ he thought, ‘I seem to have become very fat. How did that happen?’ He then continued to walk. He began to feel sleepy. He saw a patch of lush green grass that looked very inviting.
‘I think I’ll rest for a while,’ he thought and curled up on the soft patch. He fell asleep and never woke up after that. The snake had actually bitten him, he never knew!
