Long ago a lion lived in a dense forest. He was big, fierce and strong and thus all the other animals accepted him as their king. He was also very kind at heart and hunted only when he was hungry. The animals in the forest lived happily as they knew that they would never be hunted for pleasure by their king.
He once thought that as the king of this forest, I am entitled to have courtiers. He began to think who he should choose as his courtiers. After a while, he decided to call three animals – a fox, a leopard and a crow.
All the three animals came promptly to see their king.
He said to the fox, “You are known to be a very clever animal. From this day, you will be one of my courtiers. Henceforth, you will be my chief advisor.”
He turned towards the leopard and said, “You are known to be very swift, alert and strong. I appoint you as my bodyguard. You will protect me against any danger that I may face in this forest.”
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It was now the crow’s turn. The king said, “You are a bird and can fly very fast. You are also familiar with every inch of this forest and the adjoining areas. I appoint you as my messenger. You can let me know in which part of the forest I should go for food, water and shelter.”
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The fox, the leopard and the crow took oaths to always remain loyal to their king. In return, the lion promised that they will always have food to eat and will be protected from other animals in the forest.
The three courtiers started following the king anywhere he went. His wish was their command. They never opposed him and never left any opportunity to please him. In return, after each kill, the lion used to leave his leftovers for the courtiers to finish. The leftovers were sufficient for them so they always had more than enough to eat. Whichever animal they felt like eating, they used to lead the king to that animal and thus ensured that their own desires were fulfilled.
One day the crow came to the king and said, “O’ Mighty Lord, have you ever eaten a camel’s meat. I had once eaten it in the desert which is at the other end of the forest. It was very tasty.”
The lion had never eaten any camel as there were none in the forest. But he really like the idea of eating camel meat. He told the crow to find a camel in the forest that he could eat.
“Camels never enter the forest as they fear they might get killed. They only stay in the desert. While I was coming here, I saw a camel in the desert. He was alone and looked very big and fat.” the crow spread his wings wide to show. “If we move at once, we may be able to catch up with him” said the crow.
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The lion had never been towards the desert. So he asked the fox and the leopard whether they should go looking for the camel or not. The fox and the leopard, too, had never been in the desert before. But they did not want to show their ignorance in front of their king.
The fox said, “Your Majesty, I think it would be a good idea to look for the camel. If it is really as big as the crow described it to be, then we might not have the need to hunt for the next few days”.
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The leopard concurred with the fox. He said, “The crow can fly high, spot the camel easily and can lead us to him.”
All the four left at once for the desert in search of the camel. At the edge of the jungle, the desert started. Once they were out in the desert, there was not even a trace of a shady tree or water. As the blazing sun beat down on them, the sand below them became hotter with each passing moment. But they kept walking, all the while thinking about camel meat.
