A lion had grown so old that he was no longer able to kill any prey for his food. So, he said to himself, “I must do something to stay my stomach otherwise I am sure to die of starvation.”
The lion thought and thought and at last an idea struck him. He decided to resort to cunning and lie in his cave pretending to be ill. Whoever came to enquire after his health was to be his prey. The old lion put his wicked plan into practice and it worked. Many of his well-wishers were killed. But evil has a very short life.
One day a fox came to visit the ailing lion. Clever as foxes are, he stood at the mouth of the cave and looked about. His sixth sense worked and he came to know the reality. So, he called out to the lion from outside and said, “How do you feel, sir ?”
“Really bad,” said the lion, “but why don’t you come in ?”
“I would love to come in, sir, if I should not see that all foot-marks point into your cave and none points out of it.”
Saying so, the fox went away to alert other animals too.