The Snake and the Crab
Long ago a snake and a crab lived together in a green forest. The crab was a very honest, warm and open animal. But the snake always thought slyly and wanted to trick his friend. The crab noticed this bad habit and became very sad. Still, he stayed a friend to make the snake better. Every day the crab gave the snake gentle advice.
"Please be more honest and leave the crooked roads," he said. "An honest and straight life is always the best road," he added. But the snake never listened to these good words and only laughed. It went on making bad plans and cheating its friend. The crab understood that the snake never changed, and got very angry. One night the snake fell into a deep sleep in its hole. The crab came quietly to his friend and caught it with his claws.
The crab squeezed the snake with his hard claws and killed it there. The bad snake now lay flat and still on the ground. The crab looked sadly at his friend, straight on the ground. "Now you are straight, but in life you were crooked," he said. So the dishonest snake paid for all its bad deeds. In life, everyone must choose an honest and straight road. Lies have short legs.