The Clever She-Goat

The Clever She-Goat

Once upon a time, there was a herd of goats living in a cave near a forest. Daily, they would come out at dawn and go to nearby fields to graze and when it was dusk, they would come back to the cave. This routine of the herd went well until a pair of jackals came into their vicinity.

A jackal and his wife were roaming through the forest and they were having a bad time as they were unable to find any food. So they decided to search near the outskirts of the forest and they came upon the cave of the goats. They both hatched a plan and decided to wait in the bushes. Soon, one of the goats would wander away from the herd and come near the jackals. At this time, the jackals would pounce on the goat and tear the goat to pieces. In this manner the jackals feasted on the goats for many weeks and soon the number of goats in the herd were dwindling. 

It so happened that at the end, there was only a she-goat remaining. Even her husband had died and there was no one else with her now. She understood what was happening around her and as she was pregnant, she was fully alert. So she never ventured far from her cave and only grazed near her cave. The jackals saw this from the bushes and decided to lure the goat away from the cave. The jackals feared that there might be more goats inside the cave and so they devised this plan. The jackals went to the mouth of the cave and called out to her. The she-goat was clever and knew what their plan was and so she decided to put her idea to the test!

The female jackal said that she and her husband had reformed themselves and now they were only eating plants and fruits. She went on to say that she wanted to be her friend. Then she invited the she-goat for dinner later that day. The she-goat then replied saying that she could not come as she would be busy with guests. When the female jackal enquired as to who the guests were, she received the shock of her life! The she-goat said that 100 dogs who were her friends would be coming soon. Both the jackals were terrified beyond words and without wasting a second, they fled from the spot.

The she-goat rejoiced and after a few days, she gave birth to a few lambs. Together, they grew as a family and lived happily ever after.

Moral - If one is calm and has a good presence of mind, one can find a way out of any difficult situation.

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