Once, a crane lived near a pond, and went to pond daily and stood into the pond for hours to catch the prey. The crane had become old and fragile, and found it difficult to stand into the pond too long in search of prey. A plan struck his mind to catch prey easily. He saw a crab passing by. The crane started crying. “Why are you crying?” asked the crab. The crane said, “Haven’t you heard? It’s not going to rain for the next twelve years. All the pond will dry up. We will all die. I wonder what will happen to you and the fish?” When the other crabs and fish heard this, they all went to the crane for advice.
The crane volunteered to take them to a nearby lake. “Don’t worry; that lake will never dry up,” he assured the crabs. Every day, he carried one fish away and ate it on the way. One day, it was the crab’s turn. The crab happily sat on the crane’s back. After some time, the crab saw that the path was strewn with the bones of fish and there was no lake to be seen for miles. He realized the crane’s treachery. He clawed the crane’s neck so hard that the crane fell down. The clever crab ran and hid behind the rocks to save his life.
