The Foolish Pig
Once upon a time, at the edge of an ancient forest where cool waters flowed, there lived a cunning fox and an old lion. One day the lion fell ill, and when he had grown too weak to hunt, he called to his side the fox he believed loyal. The mighty ruler whispered to the fox that he craved the tasty meat of a pig, and that the fox must trick one and bring it to the cave. The greedy fox, hoping that a share of this sweet feast would fall to him as well, at once took the road to the deep forest. When he saw a naive pig feeding without a care in the shade of the oak trees, he swiftly formed his sly plan in his mind. The fox approached the pig with a smiling face and told him that the forest kingdom held him in great respect and that he had been elected to the assembly.
The naive pig, who believed these sweet promises so easily, followed the cunning fox with great pride and went to the cave. But no sooner had he stepped inside the dark cave than the sickly lion hurled himself impatiently upon the pig. The lion grazed his ear with the tip of his claw, and since he was not quick enough, the smarting pig managed to flee outside in fear. The lion, who had let his prey slip away, roared in fury at the fox and ordered him to make up for this chance at once. Losing no time, the cunning fox followed the trail of the fleeing pig and found him trembling among the bushes. With a bowed neck the fox said, "Why did you run away, my friend? Our king only wished to whisper the secrets of the kingdom into your ear."
The foolish pig believed these masterful lies once more and naively began to walk behind the fox towards the cave. This time the lion left nothing to chance and struck the pig down on the spot with a single blow of his claw as it entered the cave. The lion, who wished to wash his hands by the river, told the fox to wait beside the prey and not to touch a single piece of it. The fox, burning with the desire for a feast, seized the chance and secretly ate the tastiest piece of the prey. When the lion came back and saw that a piece of the prey was missing, he roared with rage and asked who had done this theft. Without losing his composure, the fox answered, "My sultan, this pig was never very clever; had it been clever, would it have come back here after its ear was scratched?" Foolish people who draw no lesson from the dangers they have lived through are doomed to fall into the same trap again and again, taken in by sweet lies. Once bitten, twice shy.