The Crane and the Snake

Once, near a river in a forest, a crane and his wife lived in a nest on a tree. They were very sad. Every time the crane’s wife laid eggs, a big black snake came out of a hole in the same tree and ate them.

One day, the crane went to his friend, the crab. “I feel hopeless,” he said. “That sneaky snake has eaten our eggs again!”

“Don’t worry,” said the crab kindly. “You have a smart friend. Let’s think of a way to stop him.”

The crab sat quietly and thought hard. Suddenly, he had an idea. “I have a plan!” he said and whispered it into the crane’s ear.

The crane quickly flew home and told his wife the plan. He was full of hope.

“Are you sure this will work?” asked his wife. “What if we’re making a mistake?”

But the crane wanted to try.

He flew down to the river and caught some small fish. Then he went to the hole where a mongoose lived. He dropped one fish at the hole’s entrance, then another a little farther away, and continued making a trail of fish all the way to the tree where the snake lived.

Soon, the mongoose smelled the fish and came out. “Yum! A fish!” he said and ate it. Then he followed the trail, eating the fish one by one.

At the end of the trail, the mongoose reached the tree. There, he saw the black snake. The two animals fought fiercely. After a long battle, the mongoose killed the snake. From their nest, the cranes watched with relief.

But the next day, the mongoose came again, hoping to find more fish. When the trail ended at the tree, he looked around—and climbed up the tree!

The cranes were away at the river. When they returned, they saw the mongoose climbing down from their tree. To their shock, they found that he had eaten all the eggs in the nest!

“Oh no!” cried the crane. “We got rid of one enemy, only to bring another!”