Once, a fox lived in a forest. One day, he went out of his house to go to the village. He had to cross a river to reach the village. He started swimming across the river. The current of the river was so strong that he was swept away. He was swept into a deep ravine. He could not move as he was wounded. Soon, many hungry blood-sucking flies settled on him. A hedgehog, who was passing by, saw the flies sitting on the fox. He asked the fox, “Shall I drive away the flies?” “No!” cried the fox, “Do not disturb them. These flies are already full of blood. They are hurting me very little. The new ones, who will take their place, will drink all the blood I have and I will surely die.”
The Fox and the Flies
